Mental Healthcare Act Notified, Suicide No Longer a Crime in India

The notification comes a year after the Mental Healthcare Bill was passed in the parliament last year.

Those suffering with mental disorders, more often than not, are conditioned to feel guilty, almost ashamed.

(Photo: iStockphoto)

On 29 May, the Health Ministry notified the Mental Healthcare Act 2017 which decriminalises suicide, reported Hindustan Times. This development comes a year after the law was passed in the parliament last year, added the report.

The Act repealed the formerly existing Mental Health Act of 1987, which had been widely criticised for not recognising the agency and capacity of a person suffering from a mental illness, and which like many legislations around the world, was drafted to safeguard the public from ‘dangerous patients’ by simply isolating them.

Presenting the Bill in the Indian parliament last year, Union Health Minister JP Nadda had said:

A very important factor in the Bill is that it separates attempt to suicide from the Indian Penal Code. So, now IPC provisions cannot be invoked in case of an attempt to suicide... Since, the person undertakes the step in extreme mental stress, which means it’s triggered by mental illness, it should not be criminalised.

Treatment methods like giving electric shock have also been amended under this Act. While it is now prohibited in the case of children, for adults it can be given only under anaesthesia and with muscle relaxants.

The report further points out that people can also give directions in advance regarding their preferred method of treatment in case of a mental illness in the future, says the report.

The Mental Healthcare Bill can be accessed here.

(With inputs from Hindustan Times.)

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