Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 1999, 41 (3),179-185 DR. D.L.N. MURTI RAO ORATION FORENSIC PSYCHIATRY IN INDIA CURRENT STATUS AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS L. P. SHAH ABSTRACT Forensic psychiatry is a developing superspeciality in India and other SAARC countries. After a brief historical review, the paper describes the current status of forensic psychiatry in India and compares it with the development in this field in Europe and America. It takes the stock of current scenario in three different areas viz., i) legal and clinical ii) teaching and training and Hi) research. It deliberates on need for teaching this subject at the undergraduate and the postgraduate medical and legal courses and necessity of full time consultants devoted to the practice of forensic psychiatry. It focuses on the recent developments in the field of forensic psychiatry like enactment of Narcotic and Psychotropic Substance Act (1985), Mental Health Act (1987), Juvenile Justice Act (1989), Act for the Disabled (1994) and the Consumer Protection Act (1986). The paper also recommends some strategies for teaching, training, research and future developments in this field. Key words : Forensic psychiatry, India The current definition of forensic psychiatry as provided by the American Board of Forensic Psychiatry and The American Academy of Psychiatry and Law is as follows : It is a subspecialty of psychiatry in which scientific and clinical expertise is applied to legal issues in legal context, embracing civil, criminal, correctional or legislative matters; forensic psychiatry should be practiced in accordance with guidelines and ethical principles enunciated by the profession of psychiatry. Thus forensic psychiatry operates at the interface of two non- related disciplines viz. psychiatry and law. It will be interesting to know the extent of dimensions as well as the influence of one system on the other, their respective roles and professional sensitivity. The forensic psychiatrist has to offer his professional expertise to the criminal justice system, whenever required, for decision making in the greater interest of the society. While offering his expert services he has to keep in mind that he has to be objective, honest and impartial so that full justice is done in the interest of the society. Forensic psychiatry is comparatively a new upcoming and a developing field in India. In view of this, an attempt is made in this presentation to understand the historical background in India as well as in other countries like UK, European countries and USA and how it has developed to its current status, what is the scope of forensic psychiatry in India, the legal provisions as are available in relation to psychiatric patients, their implications, benefits and drawbacks. The training of the undergraduate and postgraduate medical students in forensic psychiatry viz. the role of psychiatrist, report writing, presentation in the court when called upon, etc. and research in forensic psychiatry. Future developments regarding organizational setup, training programs, entry points for forensic psychiatry, intervention in criminal justice system so that in the long run 179