States directed to end malpractice of lodging mentally ill Patients in prisons
The Commission has once again taken up the severe problem of mentally ill patients languishing in different jails in the country. On the basis of information collected from the Inspector General (Prisons) of all States and Union Territories on the number of mentally ill persons languishing in jails, the Chairperson of the Commission, Justice J.S. Verma, on 20 February 2001 wrote to the Chief Ministers of all States in regard to the persistence of this practice.
According to the information received by the Commission, there are at present 38 mentally ill persons in jails of Assam, 24 in Jammu & Kashmir, 69 in Karnataka, 26 in Manipur, 63 in Orissa, 92 in Rajasthan, 1 in Sikkim, 3 in Tamil Nadu, 38 in Delhi and 112 in West Bengal. The Commission has received no information as yet from Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Nagaland, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Daman & Diu. The States of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, Chandigarh, Lakshadweep, Pondicherry and Dadra & Nagar Haveli have stated that they do not have any mentally ill persons lodged in any of their jails.
Observing that the malpractice of lodging mentally ill patients in prisons is a glaring and gross violation of the provisions of the Mental Health Act, 1987, the Chairperson has requested the Chief Ministers to instruct the respective Chief Secretaries to put an immediate end to this practice. The States have also been asked to inform the Commission of the time-frame within which mentally ill patients, now lodged in different jails in the States, would be transferred to appropriate mental hospitals.
The Chairperson had earlier, on 7 February 2000, written to all Chief Ministers requesting them to take steps to prevent the lodging of mentally ill persons in jails, reiterating the advice of the Commission that the rights of such persons must be safeguarded. Yet earlier, on 11 September 1996, the then Chairperson of the Commission, Justice Ranganath Misra, had written to all Chief Ministers drawing their attention to this issue and advising them that no mentally ill person should be permitted to remain in any jail after 31 October 1996. A clarification about the expression "mentally ill persons" was issued on 17 December 1998 to all Chief Ministers by the next Chairperson, Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah.
The Commission intends to instruct its Special Rapporteurs/ Representatives to visit certain jails to monitor the implementation of the Commission’s instructions.
According to the information received by the Commission, there are at present 38 mentally ill persons in jails of Assam, 24 in Jammu & Kashmir, 69 in Karnataka, 26 in Manipur, 63 in Orissa, 92 in Rajasthan, 1 in Sikkim, 3 in Tamil Nadu, 38 in Delhi and 112 in West Bengal. The Commission has received no information as yet from Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Nagaland, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Daman & Diu. The States of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, Chandigarh, Lakshadweep, Pondicherry and Dadra & Nagar Haveli have stated that they do not have any mentally ill persons lodged in any of their jails.
Observing that the malpractice of lodging mentally ill patients in prisons is a glaring and gross violation of the provisions of the Mental Health Act, 1987, the Chairperson has requested the Chief Ministers to instruct the respective Chief Secretaries to put an immediate end to this practice. The States have also been asked to inform the Commission of the time-frame within which mentally ill patients, now lodged in different jails in the States, would be transferred to appropriate mental hospitals.
The Chairperson had earlier, on 7 February 2000, written to all Chief Ministers requesting them to take steps to prevent the lodging of mentally ill persons in jails, reiterating the advice of the Commission that the rights of such persons must be safeguarded. Yet earlier, on 11 September 1996, the then Chairperson of the Commission, Justice Ranganath Misra, had written to all Chief Ministers drawing their attention to this issue and advising them that no mentally ill person should be permitted to remain in any jail after 31 October 1996. A clarification about the expression "mentally ill persons" was issued on 17 December 1998 to all Chief Ministers by the next Chairperson, Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah.
The Commission intends to instruct its Special Rapporteurs/ Representatives to visit certain jails to monitor the implementation of the Commission’s instructions.