SC directive brings respite to mentally challenged
Anasuya Roy and Revati Laul
Wednesday, April 17, 2002 (New Delhi):
The Supreme Court has directed every state in the country to have at least two fully functional government run institutions for the mentally disabled by July 1. This verdict follows a writ petition on the state of mental healthcare in the country. The court has also reiterated that no mentally ill patient should be chained during the course of his treatment.
The Erwadi tragedy, in which mentally ill patients chained to their beds were charred to death, led to a writ petition being filed in the Supreme Court. The chained patients were unable to save themselves while the hospital was on fire and the images of the tragedy provoked strong reactions.
The Supreme Court has now directed all state governments to put their systems in order by July 2002. The court said: There should be one Central government and one state government run mental health institution in every state and Union Territory.
The chief secretary of each state has to file an affidavit in court by July 1, 2002 stating whether the minimum standards prescribed are being met by mental health institutions.
Steps for shutting down sub-standard institutions are to be listed.
Ensure that no mentally ill person is being chained.
"The institutions of mental healthcare need to become institutions of care rather than abuse. Whether this process will achieve that or not one has to wait and see. But it is definitely giving more teeth to the process," maintained Dr Achal Bhagat, Psychiatrist.
The mentally disabled across the country often live in sub-human conditions and the court order aims at changing this by making state governments more accountable for the institutions they run.