KOKAIYABAI YADAV Vs. STATE OF CHHATTISGARH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) When this matter came up for hearing on 9th Nov., 2016, the following order was passed :

(2.) Pursuant to the aforesaid directions, Mr. Mohammad Mannan, learned Amicus Curiae, visited the Central Jail, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, along with Ms. Sudha Gupta, learned counsel, who was deputed by the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee. Compliance reports are submitted by the Amicus Curiae, as well as by Ms. Sudha Gupta. On going through these reports, it transpires that they had met the appellant, since she is lodged in a cell with four other female prisoners, and that Ms. Sudha Gupta had even interacted with those female prisoners as well. Insofar as the appellant is concerned, she informed Ms. Sudha Gupta that she did not even remember anything about the incident of 2003. Other four female prisoners told Ms. Sudha Gupta that when the appellant was brought to the Central Jail in 2003, all of them were already in the jail. They found that the appellant was not in a sound mental condition and was not in her senses. She had to be force-fed, given bath like a child and would not react in spite of being undressed completely. She even did not interact with anybody and was oblivious of her surroundings. Going by this condition of the appellant, the jail authorities had sent her to a mental asylum where she was treated for some time. However, the jail authorities did not show the medical record of the appellant of 2003. With the passage of time her mental condition has improved and that is why the latest medical report shows that she is not suffering from any psychiatric illness or perceptual disturbance or any formal thought disorder and that she is, in fact, normal and stable. The jail authorities also informed Mr. Mannan and Ms. Sudha Gupta that her conduct has remained steadfast all this period. She has now been given the responsibility of supervising the female prisoners. She even started her education in jail and has now cleared Class VIII examination. She has also learnt sewing and embroidery in the jail as well as Yoga, which she practices regularly. She has even participated in Nukkad Natak (street play).

(3.) From the aforesaid, this Court gets an impression that even if it is to be presumed that the appellant had committed the murder of her daughter, who was four years of age at that time, in all likelihood, she was not in a proper mental condition at that time and, therefore, was unaware as to what she was doing. We can arrive at this reasoning not solely relying on the aforesaid report of Ms. Sudha Gupta which contains her interaction with the four female inmates but also by reflecting on the inconceivable nature of the crime, of a mother, who seemingly without any reason took the life of her child.