Medical Jurisprudence And Toxicology

386 MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE

4. Reception after Judicial Inquisition.—Under section 25 of the Indian
Lunacy Act, 1912, a lunatic so found by judicial inquisition may be
admitted into a mental hospital—

(a) in the case of a judicial inquisition under Chapter IV of the Indian
Lunacy Act (Act IV of 1912), on an order made by or under the
authority of the High Court;

(b) in the case of a judicial inquisition under Chapter V of the said Act
on an order made by the District Court.

In such cases the High Court or the District Court, as the case may be,
shall, on the application of the person in charge of the mental hospital, pass
an order for the payment of the cost of maintenance of the lunatic in the
mental hospital and may from time to time direct that any sum of money
payable under such order shall be recovered from the estate of the lunatic
or of any person legally bound to maintain him. If at any time the Court
is satisfied that the lunatic has not sufficient property, and that the person
legally bound to maintain such lunatic has no means to pay such cost, the
Court shall certify the same instead of passing the order for the payment of
the cost (Section 26, The Indian Lunacy Act, 1912).

5. Reception of Criminal Lunatics.—A criminal lunatic is to be admitted
into a mental hospital on the order of the presiding officer of a Court in
accordance with section 466 or 471 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898
(Appendix III), or according to section 30 of the Prisoners Act of 1900, or
according to section 103-A of the Indian Army Act, 1911,17 after the medical
officer has certified to his lunacy.

Sections 464 to 475 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1898 (Appendix
III), deal with the criminal lunatics who may be divided into three classes
as under: —

(1) Those who are unable to stand their trial by reason of being of
unsound mind, and incapable of making their defence.

(2) Those who committed the crime, but were acquitted on the ground
of being of ^fcosound mind at the time of committing the crime.

(3) Those who contracted the disease after they were imprisoned in a
jail.

When any person is detained in a mental hospital under the provisions
of section 466 or 471 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, or under the
provisions of section 103-A of the Indian Army Act, 1911,17 the visitors of
the mental hospital appointed by the Local Government or any two of them
are authorized to visit him to ascertain the state of his mind; and they must
visit him once at least in every six months so as to enable them to make a
special report as to the state of his mind to the authority under whose order
he is detained. When a criminal lunatic is detained in a jail, the Inspector-
General of Prisons is authorized to pay such visits and make such a report
(Section 30, Th.e Indian Lunacy Act, 1912).

Discharge of Lunatics from a Mental Hospital.—The provision of the
discharge of lunatics from a mental hospital is made in sections 31 to 34 of
the Indian Lunacy Act, 1912. According to these sections three of the
visitors of a mental hospital, of whom one must "be a medical officer, may,
by order in writing, direct the discharge of any person detained in such
mental hospital except criminal lunatics and European lunatics subject to
the provisions of the Army Act or the Air Force Act. Notice of the
discharge should be immediately communicated to the authority under
whose orders the person was detained in the mental hospital.

17. The Indian Lunacy Amendment Act, 1923 (Act No. XXHI of 1923),