Kochi: The Kerala High Court has ruled that convicting and sentencing a person under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for offences committed during a suicide attempt is illogical, given the statutory presumption under Section 115 of the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017. The court emphasised that such prosecution is barred unless the prosecution can prove that the individual was not under severe stress.

The ruling came in response to an appeal filed by a 27-year-old mother who was convicted for smothering her 3-month-old son and subsequently attempting suicide by inflicting cut injuries on herself. The appellant was sentenced to life imprisonment under Section 302 IPC (murder) and six months’ imprisonment under Section 309 IPC (attempt to commit suicide).

A Division Bench comprising Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V and Justice P V Balakrishnan held that Section 115(1) of the Mental Healthcare Act creates a statutory presumption that a person who attempts suicide is under severe stress unless proved otherwise. The court ruled that this presumption extends beyond Section 309 IPC, covering all offences committed in the same transaction.

Key observations by the court
- Section 115(1) bars the trial and punishment of a person attempting suicide unless it is proven that they were not under severe stress.

- The legislature’s use of “the said Code” instead of “the said section” in Section 115(1) means the provision applies broadly to all IPC offences committed during a suicide attempt.

- Section 120 of the Act gives the Mental Healthcare Act precedence over conflicting laws, reinforcing the court’s interpretation.

- The government has a duty of care towards individuals under severe stress, as stated in Section 115(2) of the Act. Convicting such individuals under the IPC would deny them the protection mandated by law.

The court cited Common Cause (A Registered Society) v. Union of India (2018) and Ravinder Kumar Dhariwal v. Union of India (2023) to reaffirm that individuals attempting suicide should receive care, treatment, and rehabilitation rather than criminal punishment.

The Kerala High Court set aside the appellant’s conviction and declared all proceedings against her illegal. It ruled that the trial court should have halted the proceedings when the Mental Healthcare Act came into force on July 7, 2018.
(With LiveLaw inputs.)