On 20 April 2022 the Sessions Court of Greater Mumbai sentenced a postpartum depressed woman to lifetime imprisonment for abandoning and murdering her twin girl child (In re: The State of Maharashtra). In the absence of a diagnosis or treatment for postpartum depression at the time when the crime was committed, a plea of insanity was denied. This article considers how the absence of services for perinatal mental health in India may challenge the delivery of criminal justice in cases of infanticide.
Keywords: India; Postpartum depression; criminal justice system; infanticide; insanity plea.