COMPOS MENTIS—

It is a Latin term. It means a person of sound mind, memory, and understanding. The antonym of compos mentis is “non compos  mentis” which means a person “of unsound mind”.

Under Indian criminal law jurisprudence,   non-compos mentis is a good defence Section 84 under Indian Penal Code, 1860 read with Section 334 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. Besides, non-compos mentis is also a relevant ground ground in discharging a lawful civil/ contractual obligations. For example, Mr. ‘X’ pleaded before the Court that his grandmother was no longer compos mentis and needed a legal guardian.