ABSTRACT
context: Forensic psychiatry is comparatively a new upcoming and developing field in India. Substance use and mental illness have been independently associated with violence, and sometimes violent crimes. Forensic psychiatric patients, detained under sections of the mental health act, are particularly prone to developing poor physical health during the time it takes to stabilize and improve their mental health. A large and growing body of evidence suggests that physical activity (PA) may hold therapeutic promise in the management of mental health and metabolic disorders. Incorporating physical activity as an integral part of treatment strategies would appear to go a long way toward reducing the adverse health impact in forensic psychiatric care. key messages: Modern forensic psychiatry has benefited from the evolution in the medico-legal understanding and appreciation of the relationship between mental illness and criminality, evolution of the legal tests to define legal insanity and the new methodologies for the treatment of mental conditions that provide alternatives to custodial care. Few interventions exist whereby patients can hope to achieve improvements in both psychiatric symptoms and physical health simultaneously without significant risks of adverse effects. Physical activity offers substantial promise for improving outcomes for people living with mental illness and substance use disorder under forensic psychiatric care