Telangana High Court Sets Aside Death Sentence of Woman After Accepting Insanity Plea in Infant Murder Case

The Telangana High Court has overturned the death sentence awarded to a 35-year-old woman convicted of murdering her seven-month-old daughter in 2021 after accepting her plea of insanity.

The Court noted that the woman was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and lacked the mental capacity to understand the nature or consequences of her actions.

Applying Section 84 of the Indian Penal Code, which exempts criminal liability for acts committed by persons of unsound mind, the Court held that the conviction could not be sustained.

Instead of ordering her release, the Court directed that she be shifted from Chanchalguda Women’s Prison to the Institute of Mental Health, Erragadda, for long-term psychiatric treatment, with periodic review and supervision as required under the Mental Healthcare Act.