Perspective Article - (2022) Volume 8, Issue 2
Received: 26-Jan-2022, Manuscript No. IPCP-22-12913 ; Editor assigned: 28-Jan-2022, Pre QC No. IPCP-22-12913 (PQ); Reviewed: 11-Feb-2022, QC No. IPCP-22-12913 ; Revised: 16-Feb-2022, Manuscript No. IPCP-22-12913 (R); Published: 23-Feb-2022, DOI: 10.35841/2471-9854-8.2.126
Forensic psychiatry is a psychiatric subspecialty related to criminology. It is concerned with the intersection of the law and psychiatry. It is defined as a subspecialty of psychiatry in which scientific and clinical expertise is applied in legal contexts involving civil, criminal, correctional, regulatory, or legislative matters, as well as in specialised clinical consultations in areas such as risk assessment or employment by the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. A forensic psychiatrist assists a court of law by providing services such as determining competency to stand trial and treating criminals with drugs and psychotherapy.
The way a country’s justice system treats its socially and economically disadvantaged populatiocan be used to assess its notion of humanity. Conflict with criminal laws, marriage issues, sexual abuses, eligibility to work, testamentary capacity, and ethical issues are all topics of forensic psychiatry. Forensic psychiatry is still in its early stages in India. It is one of the most vital, yet misunderstood, and underappreciated subjects. According to the National Human Rights Commission’s 2012 report, recognition of mentally ill offenders from economically disadvantaged groups remains unsatisfactory.
Discrimination and ill-treatment. When a mentally ill person is not properly medicated, they frequently become repeat offenders. Not providing adequate infrastructure for these particular persons who require specialized care is tantamount to bargaining with the nation’s public quiet and tranquilly. Forensic psychiatry should be practiced in accordance with the norms and ethical principles defined by the Psychiatric profession.
The way a country’s justice system treats its socially and economically disadvantaged populations can be used to assess its notion of humanity. Conflict with criminal laws, marriage issues, sexual abuses, eligibility to work, testamentary capacity, and ethical issues are all topics of forensic psychiatry. Forensic psychiatry is still in its early stages in India. It is one of the most vital, yet misunderstood, and underappreciated subjects. According to the National Human Rights Commission report 2012, recognition of mentally disturbed offenders from economically disadvantaged groups remains insufficient.
The origins of Forensic Psychiatry in India can be traced back to Thomas Binghamton Macaulay’s mid-nineteenth-century formulation of the Indian Penal Code. Simultaneously, MC Naughton’s rules were adopted into the IPC, Section 84, and serve as the foundation for the insanity defence. This has not altered to this day. However, there have been numerous landmark decisions involving Section 84. In terms of civil responsibility, mental illness is relevant in a variety of contexts. The new provisions in the Mental Healthcare Bill, 2016, and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act are likely to usher in a paradigm change in the idea of care for those suffering from psychiatric diseases. In comparison to the rest of the globe, forensic psychiatry is a relatively new development in India. The research in this area is recognized to be insufficient because numerous private and public medical psychiatric hospitals do not provide exclusive coverage for Forensic Psychiatry, and those that do are not skilled enough to cope with the complexities of the situations. The study of forensic psychiatry is no longer limited to medical psychiatry and their patients. It employs legal tests to distinguish between legal insanity and insanity, as well as novel approaches for treating depressive illnesses, analysing social behaviour, and public attitudes of criminals and psychological illness. Forensic psychiatrists assist courts in dealing with delicate situations, resulting in improved outcomes, and the advice provided to legislators aids in the realisation of medical therapy goals. Only someone with substantial knowledge and expertise in each of these domains can fulfil this job. There is still work to be done to bridge the gap between psychiatry and law so that both areas can operate effectively together. In this study article, the author attempts to draw a link between psychiatry and law, highlighting the significance of both fields cooperating.
The authors are grateful to the journal editor and the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions.
The authors report no conflict of interest.
Citation: Lars Hammarstrom (2022). Short Note on Forensic Psychiatry in India, clin psychiatry .8.2:126
Copyright: © Lars Hammarstrom. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
