Snehal Upadhyay –
Published on: September 2, 2021, at 22:42 IST
The Supreme Court expressed ‘serious concern’ over women who are staying in various mental health institutions across the country facing several indignities and violations of human rights.
The Constitutional Bench comprising Justices DY Chandrachud, Vikram Nath and Hima Kohli was dealing with a petition filed by Advocate Gaurav Bansal concerning the condition of women in mental hospitals.
The Court observed that “Based on certain research studies conducted by NIMHANS in 2016 and the National Commission for Women (NCW) in 2020, it has been highlighted that women in mental healthcare institutions face several indignities and violation of human rights…issues flagged are of serious concern.”
The Bench issued directions to the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to discuss this issue with the concerned authorities of the states during its monthly monitoring meetings and accordingly ensure compliance and further directed the Centre to submit a report on same by a week before the new hearing date which will most probably take place in the last week of December 2021.
The petition mentioned the brutalize treatment being given to the healthcare institutions, stating that the women’s hairs are being shaved without their will to do so, they do not have necessities including sanitary napkins, there are no particular provisions that ensure that women and children are not separated at such institutions and there are no women are allowed to carry their identity cards.
All these conditions violate Section 104 of the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017.
Advocate Gaurav Bansal further submitted that “rehabilitation is a complex term and that relocation does not mean the same as reintegration”. He contended that there is the need to awaken the State Government to adopt a ‘social care model’.
Accordingly, the petition claims the Court’s orders to improve the conditions of such institutions and stop such practices.
The petition stated, “In order to safeguard the interest of the Persons institutionalized in Government Run Mental Health Establishments, it is essential that Respondents shall not only protect, safeguard and promote the rights of such persons but also actively work to remove the above barriers.”
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