A court in Goa has granted a request from the father of Suchana Seth, the CEO of an artificial intelligence start-up charged with the murder of her four-year-old son during a visit to the area, for a comprehensive assessment of her mental health by a team of medical experts.
The request was filed in the children's court by Seth's father, seeking an evaluation of her mental state by a medical board as stipulated by the Mental Healthcare Act.
The application faced opposition from the police during the hearing, with authorities arguing that Seth exhibited no signs of mental illness during evaluations conducted while she was in detention.
Following the court's approval of the request on Monday, Seth's legal representative, acting on behalf of her father, stated that the police are now required to arrange for Seth to undergo a new mental health evaluation by a medical board.
"This decision mandates her referral to a medical board under the Mental Health Act for a detailed examination," the attorney commented.
Despite initial resistance from the Goa police, who informed the court that Seth had been receiving consistent health screenings since her arrest in January, including mental health evaluations, the court proceeded with the father's request.
The police's earlier reports to the court indicated that Seth responded coherently during her assessments, showing no suicidal thoughts or tendencies, and displayed sound judgment without any evidence of psychotic or mood disorders.
Seth, who operates her start-up out of Karnataka, is alleged to have murdered her son in a service apartment in Candolim, Goa.
Following a marital dispute with her husband, Seth was apprehended on January 8 in the Chitradurga district of Karnataka. At the time of her arrest, she was found transporting her son's body in a bag while travelling in a taxi.
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