Fitness to Stand Trial in India: Demographic, Clinical, and Legal Profiles of Court-Referred Defendants.

StudyBehavioral sciences & the law· Jul 2026

Fitness to Stand Trial in India: Demographic, Clinical, and Legal Profiles of Court-Referred Defendants.

Anadrika Debbarma, Om Prakash, Druhin Grover … Deepak Kumar

Read paper

NeurologyStudyDiagnosisQ3IF 2.1

Active psychiatric symptoms strongly associated with being unfit to stand trial

Fitness to Stand Trial in India: Demographic, Clinical, and Legal Profiles of Court-Referred Defendants.

Anadrika Debbarma … Deepak Kumar

Behavioral sciences & the law · Jul 2026 · Q3 in Psychiatry

Background

Psychiatric illnesses and intellectual disabilities commonly occur in the criminal justice system and may impair an individual's ability to participate effectively in legal proceedings.

Purpose

This retrospective chart review examined the demographic, clinical, and legal profiles of 159 court-referred individuals assessed for fitness to stand trial at a major tertiary forensic psychiatry centre in New Delhi (India) between January 2017 and December 2022.

Methods

Fitness to stand trial (fitness to stand trial) is an important safeguard for ensuring fair trial processes.

Results

those with active mental illness symptoms were far more likely found unfit for trial

OR by subgroup · 95% CI

More results

The sample was predominantly male (81.1%) with a mean age of 37.9 years (SD 14.2).

Psychotic disorders were the most frequent diagnosis (35.2%), followed by bipolar affective disorder and intellectual disability.

Violent offences constituted 62.9% of alleged crimes.

More results

Overall, 54.7% were found fit to stand trial.

“

Conclusion

Active psychopathology and cognitive impairment were the strongest determinants of unfitness, highlighting the need for structured assessment tools and restoration programmes under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023.

Fitness to Stand Trial in India: Demographic, Clinical, and Legal Profiles of Court-Referred Defendants.

Fitness to Stand Trial in India: Demographic, Clinical, and Legal Profiles of Court-Referred Defendants.

Related papers