National
NHRC directive on mentally ill patients
By Our Legal Correspondent
NEW DELHI
Feb. 11.
Concerned over the pathetic condition of mentally ill patients, the National Human Rights Commission has directed all States and Union Territories (UTs) to certify that no mentally ill patient was kept in chains in any mental hospital/institution.
The Commission's Secretary-General, P.C. Sen, has written to the Chief Secretaries of all States and Administrators of UTs in this regard.
On the basis of a complaint from a professor of Meenakshi Government college for Women, Madurai, the Commission set up a committee to visit a dargah in Goripalayam, Madurai, to study the plight of mentally ill patients there.
A report was sent to the Tamil Nadu Government on January 15, 2001 for implementation of the committee's recommendations and reminders were sent on May 10 and July 31, 2001. Despite all these, in a shocking incident on August 6, 2001, 28 inmates of a mental asylum in Erwadi were charred to death in a fire as they were chained.
Taking a serious view of the incident, the NHRC sent letters to the States and UTs asking them to certify that no mentally ill patient was chained in captivity in the respective States and UTs so that recurrence of such incidents was prevented.
In its reply, the Tamil Nadu Government said instructions had been issued to all the District Collectors to inspect shelters for mentally ill to ensure that no shelter was allowed to function without a valid licence as per the Mental Health Act.
The District Collectors had been directed that wherever mentally ill patients were found in chains they should be unchained and suitable arrangements made for their welfare, the State Government said and sought time to file a final report in this regard.
The Commission has once again sent reminders to the States, who had failed to respond, to send a report immediately.
Move rejected
Meanwhile, the Commission is understood to have rejected the Centre's move to appoint M.B. Kaushal, a retired IPS officer, as Member of the Commission on the ground that already the Director General of Investigation is an IPS officer and there was no need for appointing another IPS officer for the post of Member.
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