NIMHANS Protocol
Definition
The structured psychological-autopsy interview and source-review framework developed at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru. The Indian de-facto standard.
- Origin
- National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru
- Type
- Structured psychological-autopsy interview and source-review framework
- Status in India
- De-facto standard
Common questions
What does a psychological autopsy under this protocol actually involve?+
It structures interviews with people who knew the deceased, review of medical, psychiatric and other records, and systematic reconstruction of the person's mental state and circumstances before death, aiming to reduce interviewer-driven bias in the resulting narrative.
How does the protocol help distinguish suicide from homicide?+
By systematically documenting stressors, prior statements, behavioural changes, and physical evidence context rather than relying on a single informant's account, the structured approach reduces the risk that an investigator's initial assumption shapes which facts get collected.
Is the NIMHANS protocol legally binding on Indian investigators?+
It functions as the de-facto professional standard rather than a codified legal requirement, meaning its use reflects accepted best practice in psychological autopsy work in India rather than a statutory mandate.
Related terms
- Collateral Source
- Any non-deceased source feeding the reconstruction: family, treating clinician, employer, financial records, diary, digital footprint.
- Equivocal Death
- A death in which the cause is established but the manner is unclear. The category that psychological autopsy was originally designed to...
- Manner of Death
- The circumstantial classification of a death using the NAME five-category scheme (natural, accident, suicide, homicide, undetermined), or the jurisdiction-specific equivalent, recorded separately...
- Psychological Autopsy
- A retrospective investigation of a deceased person's psychological state in the period before death, used to help differentiate suicide, homicide, accident and...
- Suicide Note
- A written or recorded communication left by the deceased explaining or referring to the act. Present in a minority of Indian suicides;...