The article explores judicial interpretations of “unsound mind” in the CrPC/BNSS. It demonstrates that the standard employed by the courts reflects the definition “mental illness” under the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, despite the judiciary and legislature insisting that the two are not equivalent.

This article examines sentencing circumstances which must be considered while imposing life imprisonment without remission sentences in death penalty appeals, and argues that the Court’s attempt to clarify the doctrine in Navas v. State of Kerala (2024) is misguided given the nature of this punishment.