Odisha High Court dismisses insanity plea in appeal against life sentence

CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has affirmed a trial court judgment that convicted and sentenced Padmalochan Pradhan to life imprisonment for murder of his grandparents in a case of defence that he was insane at the time of occurrence of the crime.

Pradhan assaulted his grandparents with a wooden plank in their house at Sipokachhar village under Lephripada police station limits in Sundargarh district. While his grandfather Arjun died on the spot, grandmother Phula succumbed to injuries in the hospital. The incident occurred on April 2, 2016.

Pradhan had filed a jail criminal appeal (JCRLA) after the court of Additional Sessions Judge, Sundargarh convicted and sentenced him to rigorous imprisonment for life on December 4, 2023.

While dismissing the appeal, the division bench of Justice SK Sahoo and Justice Chittaranjan Dash said the appellant’s (Padmalochan Pradhan’s) conduct during and after the crime, such as the manner of the assaults and his subsequent actions, did not demonstrate a loss of reasoning or an inability to comprehend his actions. The absence of any indication that the appellant was disoriented or unaware of his actions at the time of the murders further weakens the argument for legal insanity.

The bench held that the evidence on record clearly established that the appellant committed the murders with full knowledge of the nature and consequences of his actions.