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2. The story is a most extraordinary one. The appellant, his brother and his father were living together and the appellant and his father have been proved to have been on the best of terms. The brother's story is that on the morning in question when he woke up his father and his brother had gone out and it seems clear that soon after leaving the house the appellant with a dao cut off his father's head. He thereupon picked up the head wrapped it in something and was proceeding along the road to Silchar Court. He was seen by witness Saiyad Ali about the time he had passed the thana. Saiyad Ali having gone and reported to the thana what he had seen, constables overtook the accused who was walking quite in an ordinary way and persuaded him quietly to come back to the thana and to tell his story to the Assistant Sub-Inspector. The story he told was that he had a dream and that in that dream goddess Kali appeared to him and told him that either he would have to kill his father or his father would kill him. It would seem that this dream contained other elements; in particular, it contained the element that his father was a descendant of the goddess Kali and also that his father's tongue was black and that he was to take the head to the Court at Silchar.

3. When the story was first told to the Assistant Sub-Inspector the appellant was taken back to the house. He was taken to the threshing ground where his father's body lay, and the tea garden doctor who has given evidence saw him on that occasion. The accused told him that the previous night he had dreamt that if he did not kill his father his father would kill him. He said that Kali told him so in his dream. Kali said to him that his father's tongue was black and that his father was a descendent of the goddess Kali. He told me that his father would have killed him and so he killed his father. He told me that he dreamt that he had taken the head of his father to Silchar Court. He said that when he was bringing the head to Silchar he was stopped on the way and could not bring it. He said that his dream could not be realized as he could not take the head to Silchar. He told me this at the threshing floor. He was excited and his eyes were blood shot.

7. A very common way of applying that test is to ask, in the circumstances, whether the man would have committed the act if a policeman had been at his elbow. Examining this case from that point of view I think it is very noticeable that this man having committed the deed, immediately picked up the head of his father and was proceeding to Silchar Court. The witness Saiyad Ali, who saw him first, said that he was not running. He did not proceed to run, but when the constables overtook him he came quietly back to the thana. He explained that Ibe was going to Silchar Court and why he was going to Silchar Court, namely because of a dream which he had on the previous night. That seems to me to be the best evidence in this case upon the question whether he knew that what he was doing was "wrong or contrary to law"; and in view of that evidence, which is supported by other evidence in the case, particularly by the very strong evidence of the Civil Surgeon who is not only more competent to give but had far more opportunity than anyone else of forming a correct opinion, in my judgment this appeal should be allowed, the conviction and sentence should be set aside, and we should send this case back to the learned Sessions Judge of Cachar with a direction to deal with it under Section 471, Criminal P.C. on the basis that this man was not at the time of doing the act, by reason of unsoundness of mind, capable of knowing the nature of the act, or that he was doing that was either wrong or contrary to law. We come to the finding as required by Section 470, Criminal P.C., that he did the act, but that he was of unsound mind in the sense explained at the time. We accordingly direct that he be detained in safe custody in the Mental Hospital at Tezpur. We direct the Sessions Judge to take the action required by Rule 54 of Assam Government Rules relating to lunatics.