Evidence

PSYCHIATRIC EVIDENCE – ROLE OF EXPERT
Forensic psychiatry is a subspecialty of psychiatry, which usually deals

with the application of psychiatric knowledge to the legal issues and
sometimes with the application of legal knowledge to psychiatry.
The project discusses about how the psychiatric evidence in

admissible in the court of law. It also analysis the role of such witness
who are expert in the field of Psychiatry.
Name: H.Simran
Section: A
Roll no: 18LLB034
Raveesh BN, Anil KMN, Narendra KMS, Law & Psychiatry in India: An Overview. J Forensic Sci CITATION: Criminol 1(2) (2013)
The authors in this article provides an overview of various crimes and how they would be different when the person has an unsound mind. The
article provides a brief differentiation between the criminal and civil laws in regards with mental illness.
Robert Bluglass, The Value of Psychiatric Evidence in Criminal Cases. CITATION: 7 POLY L. REV. 71 (1982)
The article points out how the development in today’s period has held psychiatric evidence on the highest pedestal. Going further the reader
can find the various statists where the accused in given bail and is kept under observation by medical experts. These experts would write in
detail the behaviour of the accused on bail, his preference, past character etc.
Sadasivan Nair G, Mental disorder, crime and medical expert evidence, Cochin University Law Review (1995)
The article mostly based on the famous M’Naghten rules and discusses about the S.84 of IPC. The author discusses about the ingredients of
insanity and how the psychiatric evidence relating to it would help the court with the conclusions.
Kennedy,M.D, Limits of Psychiatric Evidence in Criminal Courts: Morals and Madness.CITATION: (2005)11, 1 M.L.J.I
The author keenly starts the article showing how lawyers and psychiatrists are interconnected and interdependent. The two-part definition of
most crimes, which requires proof of both the criminal act (actus reus) and the criminal intent (mens rea), drives lawyers to lure the
psychiatrist into court.
Morris Manning & Alan W. Mewett, Psychiatric Evidence - Part I CITATION: 18 CRIM. L.Q. 325 (1976)
Almost any emotional or mental defect may materially affect the accuracy of testimony and with increasing advances in psychiatric science
and an increasing recognition of the effect that mental illness of any kind may have on the trial process it is incumbent upon lawyers to attempt
to understand psychiatric knowledge in order to assist the triers of fact to obtain the desired results for their clients.
CASES LAWS
TITLI V ALFRED ROBERT JONES (AIR 1934 ALL 273)
Captain Aitchison's evidence cannot override the inference to be drawn from the remaining evidence on the record
put before the Court all the materials which induced him to come to his conclusion, so that the Court, although not an expert, may form its own
judgment on those materials.
Thus it is the responsibility of the expert to get all the reports and the observations to the court to satisfy his statements.
ACCUSED X VS THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA (2019 (3) ACR 2621)

Test envisaged herein predicates that the offender needs to have a severe mental illness or disability, which simply means that a medical
professional would objectively consider the illness to be most serious so that he cannot understand or comprehend the nature and purpose
behind the imposition of such punishment.
R. MARUTHU @ MARUTHUPANDIAN V. STATE, REP BY INSPECTOR OF POLICE, PUDUKKOTTAI DISTRICT (2013) 2 MLJ
(CRL) 111
From the above Psychiatric evidence, it has been clearly established that the accused was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and he was
incapable of understanding the nature of the act, which he did.
R V TURNER ([1975] 1 All ER 70)

An expert opinion was only necessary where the expert could furnish the court with scientific information that was likely to be outside the
experience and knowledge of the judge or jury
BANKS V GOODFELLOW LR .5. QB. 549

While the question of testamentary capacity is ultimately a legal decision, it is informed by medical and neuropsychiatric considerations—
hence this medico-legal collaborative approach. Experts who do assessments of testamentary capacity, both contemporaneous and retrospective,
need guidance on the criteria they should be exploring in their assessments used by the courts
Psychiatrist: A EXPERT WITNESS…
(Expert is defined under section 45 of The Indian Evidence Act,1872.)
Spite of it when there is dearth of direct evidence and in certain cases to corroborate the already existing evidence the expert opinion is
sought.
Is advisory in character.
not conclusive evidence.
Admissibility Of Expert Opinion

• Expert opinion becomes admissible only when the expert is examined as a witness in the court.
• Sec.293 Cr.P.C. provides a list of some Govt. Scientific Experts (The report of any of the above Govt. Scientific Experts is admissible in
evidence in any inquiry, trial or other proceeding)
• In CrPC, S.311empowers the court to summon a material witness, or to examine a person present at “any stage” of “any enquiry”, or
“trial”, or “any other proceedings” under Crpc, or to summon any person as a witness, or to recall and re-examine any person who has
already been examined if his evidence appears to it.
• Examination of witnesses is there in order XVIII of rule 4 to 16 in the Code of Civil Procedure.
• Section 159 of Indian Evidence Act (Refreshing memory)
• The Opinion of an expert must be of corroborative nature to the facts and circumstances of the given case.
• The data on which the expert weighs must weigh with the Court, and the opinion of the expert must be judged in the light thereof.
• Chapter 25 of Crpc (328-339)
• Order XXXII of CPC
Where Psychiatric Expert Evidence can be sought:

fitness to stand trial,
insanity defence,
testamentary capacity related to execution of a will,
capacity to make a contract, etc
LEARNING AND OUTCOMES
• Expert opinion is a rather weak type of evidence and the Courts do not generally consider it as offering
conclusive proof, and therefore do not rely solely upon it without seeking independent and reliable
corroboration.
• Experts are admissible as witness but, they are not to make conclusion as it is a judicial function
• Medical evidence isn’t direct, and, therefore, value of such an evidence lies only on the extent to which it
supports and lends weight to the direct evidence of eye-witnesses or contracts that evidence and removes the
possibility that the injury could take place in the manner alleged by those witnesses..
• Standardized Guidelines need to be formed for the smooth functioning of the system where it clearly suggests
where forensic psychology needs to be involved
THANK YOU

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PSYCHIATRIC EVIDENCE – ROLE OF EXPERT

Forensic psychiatry is a subspecialty of psychiatry, which usually deals

The project discusses about how the psychiatric evidence in

ACCUSED X VS THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA (2019 (3) ACR 2621)

R V TURNER ([1975] 1 All ER 70)

BANKS V GOODFELLOW LR .5. QB. 549

Admissibility Of Expert Opinion

Where Psychiatric Expert Evidence can be sought:

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