Swarna Shukla-
Published on: September 6, 2021, at 17:44 IST
The Jharkhand High Court directs the State to constitute the Mental Health Review Board (MHRB) under Section 46 and 73 of the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 within 6 weeks.
The Board was sanctioned to be set up within nine months from enactment as per statute.
The Division Bench consisting of Chief Justice Ravi Ranjan and Justice Sujit Prakash directed the government to appoint non-official members to the State Mental Health Authority.
The Public Interest Application (PIL) was filed by two students at National University of Study and Research in Law, Ranchi who looked for directions for the constitution of the State Mental Health Authority and MHRB, under the Act.
Due to non-appointment of the non- official member, the petitioner’s case has not been complied, surprisingly for three years.
The Mental Health Act 2017 permits the State Authority and the Review Board to act as the “Remedial Forums” upon denial of any right under the statute.
However, it was argued that in the absence of such bodies, the mental health services remain unchecked.
The State reacted that the arrangement of the ex-officio individual for non-official member had been notified by section 46 (1) of the MH Act, 2017. Furthermore, the MHRB of various areas is under process of notification.
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