Section 20(1) of the Mental Health Act, 2017 states that every mentally ill person should have the right to live with dignity.
The time has come to organize awareness programs in police training academies and judicial academies to sensitize the concerned authorities regarding mental health issues, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has said.
In a case where a prisoner was suffering from bipolar disorder, Justice GR Swaminathan observed that it is time that the State modified the protocol regarding medical examination of arrestees. There should be a specific column in the proforma for the health check-up of the detainees which is regarding the mental health of the arrested person. The column cannot be filled up after making a formal question to the arrested person. Duty doctor should independently inspect and collect inputs.
Section 20(1) of the Mental Health Care Act, 2017 states that every person with mental illness should have the right to live with dignity and the expression ‘every person’ shall expressly include an arrested/remand prisoner, The judge said.
Sections 100 to 105 of the Act describe the duties of police officers and magistrates in relation to mentally ill persons. They are meant to be called on the side of mentally ill prisoners.
The judge said that the mental health of the arrested person should be looked into. If he is found to be mentally ill, the provisions of the Mental Health Act will automatically be attracted. Police, duty doctor and judicial officer have positive responsibility. They should put their mind exclusively and record their satisfaction that the arrested person is not mentally ill. If they find signs of mental illness, then the legal process should be adopted.
Mental illness bombs are ticking. They lie beneath the surface. The judge said that unless they manifest themselves concretely in the patient’s behavior and conduct, hardly anyone is aware of it.
The judge also recommended that every police officer and judge also watch Jerry Pinto’s ‘A Book of Light: When a Loved One Has a Different Mind’ and ‘A Beautiful Mind’, based on the book of the same title by Sylvia Nassar.
The court was hearing a petition filed by a woman, who had sought a direction to consider her representation for shifting her husband from Thoothukudi Government Hospital to Tirunelveli GH. The husband of the petitioner was suffering from bipolar disorder. He was arrested and sent to judicial custody following the death of a man who had taken loans from him and two others. He was accused of charging exorbitant interest.
Taking note of the fact that the woman’s husband was already treated at Tirunelveli, the judge allowed the prisoner to be shifted to Tirunelveli GH for better treatment.
The judge, however, made it clear that the scope of the petition was limited to upholding the rights of the arrested person with special needs. It has nothing to do with the investigation and will proceed as per law.
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