{"id":267426,"date":"2022-05-26T16:30:45","date_gmt":"2022-05-26T11:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?p=267426"},"modified":"2022-05-26T16:26:24","modified_gmt":"2022-05-26T10:56:24","slug":"primer-on-mental-health-laws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2022\/05\/26\/primer-on-mental-health-laws\/","title":{"rendered":"Primer on Mental Health Laws"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u201cA hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” –\u00a0Christopher Reeve<\/em><\/p>\n

There are almost 1 billion such heroes worldwide who persevere to overcome their disabilities \u2013 roughly 100 million of those heroes are in India alone. This handbook is an attempt at facilitating access to information regarding the steps taken so far to remove the obstacles faced by persons with disabilities, information regarding benefits available to them and suggestions on what more needs to be done to remove the obstacles to leading a life of dignity.<\/p>\n

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This handbook is our endeavour to bridge the gap between disability and accessibility. Over the several chapters of this handbook, we have endeavoured to highlight the many legislative and policy- level attempts to promote the empowerment of persons with disabilities \u2013 through education, employment, health and safety to name a few. Each of these chapters has been crafted to make this handbook a ready reference for practical purposes.<\/p>\n

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Legal Framework<\/h2>\n

<\/a><\/a>(A)MENTAL HEALTHCARE ACT, 2017<\/h3>\n

The MH Act is the primary legislation dealing with rights of persons with mental illnesses. Mental illness is defined as a substantial disorder of thinking, mood, perception, orientation, or memory that grossly impairs judgment or the ability to meet the ordinary demands of life, mental conditions associated with the abuse of alcohol and drugs. The MH Act aims to provide mental healthcare and services for persons with mental illness and to promote and fulfil the rights of such persons during delivery of mental healthcare and services.<\/p>\n

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The MH Act distinguishes \u2018mental retardation\u2019 and mental illness, as described in greater detail in Chapter 3, and does not regard \u2018mental retardation\u2019 as a \u2018mental illness\u2019. Various Indian laws bar persons with unsound minds to enter into contracts or undertake certain acts in general, such marrying, voting or holding public office and making wills \u2013 the MH Act, however, takes a contrary view on this issue. This is a welcome step in the right direction because, simply put, a person with mental illness cannot be said to have an unsound mind unless a court declares so. There is a certain stigma to the notion of being categorised as a person with an unsound mind, thereby thwarting mental healthcare as persons with mental illness would prefer to go untreated over being tagged as a\u00a0person with an unsound mind.<\/p>\n

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Authorities under<\/strong> the MH Act<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The MH Act is patient-centric legislation, i.e., it recognises the need for healthcare for persons with mental illness as the primary object. To this extent, the MH Act has established the Central Mental Health Authority and State Mental Health Authority to oversee the implementation of the MH Act in tandem with the spirit of the law. These authorities typically regulate mental health establishments to ensure the quality of these establishments’ services. A mental health establishment, clinical psychologists, mental health nurses and psychiatric social workers register with these authorities. The MH Act has also set up a Mental Health Board, which shall serve as an adjudicating authority.<\/p>\n

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Other Protections: Duties of the Government<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The governments have specific duties to undertake under the MH Act. These include promotion of mental health and preventive programmes, creating awareness about mental health and illness and reducing the stigma associated with mental illness, human resource development and training, and co-ordinating amongst the various arms of the government such as ministries and departments including those dealing with health, law, home affairs, human resources, social justice, employment, education, women and child development, medical education to address issues of mental health care.<\/p>\n

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Offences under the MH Act: Penalties & Punishments<\/strong><\/h3>\n

To ensure enforcement of the MH Act, the MH Act provides for penalty and punitive actions:<\/p>\n