Queen-Empress vs Kader Nasyer Shah
FACTS
Kader Shah suffered a mental breakdown after his house and belongings were destroyed in a fire. He experienced a severe headache for two months and was unable to work. He strangled an 8-year-old boy who was his neighbor’s son for no apparent reason one day. Kader scooped up the boy’s body after he died and concealed it in a derelict house. He said he was mentally ill. Kader, the appellant, was charged with murder in the death of a youngster before the Sessions Court of Rungpur.
ISSUES
In this appeal, there are two issues to be resolved: First, whether the appellant killed the boy; and, if he did, whether he is guilty of murder or entitled to an acquittal on the grounds of insanity.
JUDGMENT
Applying the law as we understand it to the facts of this case, we are unable to conclude that the accused, at the time he killed the boy, was incapable of “understanding the nature of his act, or that he was doing something that was either illegal or against the law” due to his insanity. The facts surrounding the murder demonstrate that he could not have been without any such knowledge, however they also show that he must have been suffering from some form of mental illness at the time. As a result, we must dismiss the appeal and uphold the conviction for murder and the sentence of life imprisonment, which is the sole alternative to the death penalty that the law allows for that crime.
According to the court, Kader was not entitled to the benefit of the general exception under section 84 because he knew what he did was unlawful and went to great lengths to hide the body in an abandoned house so that it would not be discovered quickly.
