BNSS § 367
Definition
Provision of India's Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 governing court procedure when an accused person appears to be of unsound mind; cognitive assessment findings are submitted as expert evidence under BSA 2023 § 39.
- Jurisdiction
- India (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023)
- Related Evidence Rule
- Expert cognitive assessment findings are admitted under BSA 2023 § 39
- Replaced
- CrPC §§ 328-330
Common questions
What does BNSS § 367 do in a trial?+
It sets the court procedure when an accused appears to be of unsound mind and incapable of making their own defence. The section determines how the court should proceed in such cases.
What does unsound mind mean in this context?+
It refers to cognitive or mental conditions that prevent an accused from understanding the trial or participating in their own defence. A forensic expert's cognitive assessment findings are submitted as evidence to support these determinations.
Is this an old law?+
No. BNSS § 367 comes from the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023, India's current criminal procedure code. It replaced the older CrPC sections 328-330.
Related terms
- MacCAT-CA
- MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool for Criminal Adjudication; a 22-item standardised instrument measuring Understanding, Reasoning, and Appreciation of the trial process, grounded in...
- Atkins V. Virginia
- US Supreme Court 2002 decision holding that executing intellectually disabled defendants violates the Eighth Amendment; requires DSM-standard intellectual disability determination including Flynn-corrected...
- CP(MIP) Act 2003
- New Zealand Criminal Procedure (Mentally Impaired Persons) Act 2003, providing the statutory framework for fitness-to-stand-trial determinations and court-ordered treatment.
- Dual-Deficit Requirement
- DSM-5 requirement for intellectual disability diagnosis: deficits in both measured intellectual functioning and adaptive behaviour, both present before age 18.
- Dusky Standard
- The US Supreme Court's 1960 two-pronged test for competency to stand trial: sufficient present ability to consult with counsel with rational understanding,...
- FIT-R
- Fitness Interview Test-Revised; a structured competency assessment instrument developed for the Canadian criminal law framework, covering understanding of proceedings, consequences, and ability...
- Flynn Effect
- Documented approximately 3-point-per-decade rise in population mean IQ scores; requires correction when IQ scores obtained with older norms are used in legal...
- FSIQ
- Full-Scale IQ; derived from 10 core WAIS-IV subtests; primary score used in intellectual disability determinations and Atkins proceedings.
- Hall V. Florida
- US Supreme Court 2014 decision requiring courts to account for IQ measurement error and the Flynn effect before enforcing rigid IQ cutoffs...
- Jackson V. Indiana (1972)
- US Supreme Court ruling that indefinite commitment of a defendant solely on the basis of incompetency violates due process if there is...
- NIMHANS Neuropsychological Battery
- Normative neuropsychological battery published by NIMHANS Bangalore with Indian-population norms; primary reference for forensic cognitive assessment in India.
- Performance Validity Test (PVT)
- Any test designed to detect inadequate effort or deliberate underperformance in cognitive assessment; TOMM is the leading example for memory; embedded PVTs...
Explained in these topics
- Competence to Stand Trial: Dusky, Pritchard and BNSS § 367The provision in India's Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 governing procedure when an accused appears to be of unsound mind and incapable of making thei...
- Intelligence and Cognitive Assessment in Forensic ContextProvision of India's Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 governing court procedure when an accused person appears to be of unsound mind; cognitive assessme...