Nirbhaya Rape: Delhi Court dismisses death row convict Vinay Sharma's plea seeking high-level treatment for mental illness

An Additional Session Court yesterday dismissed the application filed by death row convict in the Nirbhaya case, Vinay Sharma for “high level treatment” on account of his alleged mental illness, apart from head injuries and an arm fracture..The Court ultimately ruled,."General anxiety and depression in case of a death row convict is obvious. In the case at hand, evidently adequate medical treatment and psychological help has been provided to the condemned convict. In these circumstances, I do not find any occasion to refer the convict to IBHAS or any other hospital at this stage. The application is accordingly dismissed for want of merits."ASJ Dharmender Rana .The Court had earlier ordered the Tihar Jail Superintendent to file his report in this regard after Vinay's counsel, Advocate AP Singh told the Court that during a meeting with Vinay in Jail, the convict had failed to recognise even his own mother as well as his counsel. .Judge Dharmender Rana dismissed the application after taking note of the Public Prosecutor's submissions that not only were regular mental health tests being conducted in the jail, but also that medical and psychiatric care was being given to Sharma. It was argued that the convict was only feigning psychological symptoms to deliberately disrupt the courts of justice. .To make his submissions, the Prosecutor had relied on a report filed by the Jail Superintendent and a medical report, which was also perused by the Judge. The Court also found that medical experts had concurred that Sharma did not show any behavioural abnormality..The Court also took note of submissions that Sharma had been asking to be diagnosed as mentally ill to help commute his sentence. As recorded in the order,.It is specifically reported that the convict was asking the specialist psychiatry for legally favoring the convict by diagnosing him mentally ill for helping him to commute his death sentence.ASJ Dharmender Rana .Medical examination had also revealed that the convict's behaviour was a dramatic, albeit superficial demonstration of mental illness and that his conduct was suggestive of "deliberate disruptive behaviour". A the CD provided by the Jail authorities also corroborated the medical report..The Court went on to held that there is no need to refer Vinay Sharma for special treatment, given that it was found that tone and tenor of the convict did not show any abnormal behaviour, aside from the anxiety and depression that may be seen amongst death row convicts in general. .With these observations, the plea was dismissed on merits..[Read the order here]