Section 73 in The West Bengal Correctional Services Act, 1992
73. Confinement of criminal lunatics.—
(1)(a)The State Government shall set up in every central correctional home a separate ward or wing for custody and care of criminal lunatics. Such ward or wing shall be placed under the charge of a qualified psychiatrist who shall be a whole time officer of the central correctional home and shall be under the direct control of the Chief Medical Officer of Correctional Homes. The State Government may appoint such number of psychiatrists in a central correctional home as may be necessary. Where there are two or more psychiatrists in a central correctional home, the senior most psychiatrist shall be designated as the Chief Psychiatrist and the other psychiatrist or psychiatrists shall be sub-ordinate to the Chief Psychiatrist.(b)There shall be established an institution for the custody of curable lunatics. The State Government shall appoint such number of officers and other staff for the administration of such institution as may be prescribed.(2)If any person of unsound mind is admitted to a correctional home as an under-trial prisoner or if a convicted prisoner is found, on medical examination after his admission into a correctional home and while serving a sentence, to be of unsound mind, the Superintendent shall move the Inspector General of Correctional Homes and Correctional Services for orders for the transfer of such prisoner to a central correctional home having a ward or wing set up under clause (a) of sub-section (1) for custody and care and shall transfer the concerned prisoner to the central correctional home approved by the Inspector General of Correctional Homes and Correctional Services.(3)When a prisoner is transferred from a correctional home to a central correctional home under sub-section (2), the Superintendent of the correctional home from which he is transferred shall communicate the fact of such transfer to the near relative or friend of such prisoner if the name of the relative or friend, as the case may be, is ascertainable from the records of the correctional home.(4)When an under-trial prisoner or a convicted criminal lunatic is found by the Medical Officer or the Psychiatrist in charge of the world of wing of a central correctional home to have been cured, he shall make a report to that effect to the Chief Medical Officer of Correctional Homes. On receipt of such report, the Chief Medical Officer shall examine the concerned prisoner or cause him to be examined by an expert. If the Chief Medical Officer is satisfied that the concerned prisoner has been completely cured of mental derangement and is fit to understand the proceedings of the court or to serve the sentence, as the case may be, he shall issue a certificate to that effect. On receipt of the certificate from the Chief Medical Officer, the Superintendent shall, with the approval of the Inspector General of Correctional Services, transfer the concerned prisoner to the correctional home within the jurisdiction of the court before which the trial of the under-trial prisoner is pending or to the correctional home in which the convicted prisoner was serving sentence, along with a copy of the certificate of the Chief Medical Officer.(5)The Superintendent of the correctional home to which a under-trial prisoner is transferred under sub-section (4), shall forward a copy of the certificate from the Chief Medical Officer to the Court before which the trial of the said prisoner is pending for consideration of the Court as the commencement of his trial.(6)The period during which a convicted criminal lunatic suffers from unsoundness of mind shall be computed as the period of sentence served by him. In the case of an under-trial criminal lunatic, the period of such unsoundness of mind shall be considered as the period of confinement as an under-trial prisoner.
