Emedinews:Insights on Medicolegal Issues:What is delusion?

• Delusion is a false belief in something without any basis and the belief cannot be removed from the mind of the sufferer. It is rather persistent, even after the falsity of the belief is clearly demonstrated or explained with possible arguments. It reduces the power of reasoning and understanding capacity which leads a person to commit some act/crime.
• When a person does some act due to the direct effect of delusion he suffers from, then he will not be held responsible for that act.
• In an insane person, the false belief is persistent and cannot be removed in any way. Also, in delusional beliefs, mass or a section of people is not involved.
• Delusion indicates some sort of mental abnormality which is more commonly found in some severe mental illness like schizophrenia, manic depressive psychosis, paranoid psychosis etc.
• Some false beliefs and understandings are not unusual in normal healthy persons. For a sane person there must become reasonable basis for that and after reasonable arguments, explanations and demonstration he can be convinced about the falsity of his belief.