Mumbai: The sessions court on Tuesday ordered a mental health examination of dismissed Railway Police Force (RPF) constable Chetan Singh Chaudhary, who is in jail for the fatal shooting of four persons on Jaipur-Mumbai Central Superfast Express in July 2023. The check will be conducted at Thane Mental Hospital, for which Chaudhary will be shifted from Akola prison to Thane prison.
Shadow Looms Over The Case
A shadow looms over the case as the law protects a mentally unstable man from facing a criminal trial until he/she attains sanity and is in a condition to make sense of the proceedings. Under the old Criminal Procedure Code, and the new Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, an entire chapter is dedicated to the subject. Under this chapter, if it is held during an inquiry that the accused is not mentally stable, and is not in a position to make his defence, he can be released on bail only if a close relative takes responsibility. Until the accused is sane again, the trial remains at a standstill.
In Chaudhary’s case, the defence has claimed that he was not mentally stable at the time of the incident. It sought bail while further claiming that he was under treatment. However, the court had rejected the plea for a lack of evidence.
Last month, the Akola prison authorities, where Chaudhary was lodged, claimed that the doctors have opined that Chaudhary’s mental health is not good. They approached the court to shift him to Nashik Mental Hospital. Following this, the court ordered a mental health check.
The prosecution had objected to shifting Chaudhary to Nashik but suggested keeping him closer to the city at Thane Mental Hospital. The court also noted that even when Chaudhary was lodged in the Akola jail, he wasn’t being produced due to connectivity issues.
