Victims of Depression Ending in Suicide and Restorative Justice

Duties owed to the Sovereign is one of the four duties envisaged by Austin and it is the duty of every Sovereign State or Welfare State to protect and promote the economical and social wellbeing of its subjects. Victims are persons who are harmed, injured or made to feel helpless in the face of ill fortune, and the criminal justice system in a Welfare State for its efficient administration must be cautious and careful in identifying a victim and redress his mishaps, which is the outcome or consequences of a crime inflicted on him. The World Health Organisation on its official website has reported that approximately 280 million people in the world suffer from depression and when it recurs, it may become a serious health problem and at worst lead to suicide. There is a large number of factors increasing the risks of suicidal thoughts and they may be child abuse, cyberbullying, sexual abuse, etc., and the WHO recognises victims of suicidal thoughts are a kind of mental disorder patients and they may be cured by the correct psychiatric treatment. Indian Penal Code in section 309, penalises a person who attempts to commit suicide, creating an obligation on the State to sue such persons blanketly. Whereas, section 115 of the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 negates the penalising theory of section 309 of IPC with a presumptive clause that the persons who attempt to commit suicide will be presumed to be under severe depression until otherwise proved. Hence a study is very much necessitated in amending section 309 IPC to bring it in consonance with the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 in the interest of the survivor victims of suicide who were proved to be in severe depression.