LS MPs back Mental Healthcare Bill to decriminalise suicide

New Delhi: Legislation seeking to decriminalise suicide and provide the right to better healthcare for people suffering from mental illnesses found all-round support in the Lok Sabha on Friday.

The Mental Healthcare Bill, which was passed by the Rajya Sabha with 134 official amendments in August 2016, was moved for consideration and passage by health minister J.P. Nadda, who said it was introduced in the Lower House after wide-ranging consultations with experts, academia and others.

It found support from the Opposition, though the debate on it remained inconclusive and will continue next week.

“The Bill empowers patients for mental healthcare. It gives them the right so that he/she is not denied treatment or discriminated against. The focus is on community mental healthcare... It is a rights-based Bill,” Mr Nadda said.

The measure provides that a person who attempts suicide shall be presumed to be suffering from mental illness at the time, and will not be punished under the Indian Penal Code.

It also seeks to protect and promote the right of persons with mental illnesses during the delivery of healthcare in institutions and in the community.

A unique feature of the Bill is that it would allow adults to make an advance directive on how they wish to be treated in case they suffer from mental illnesses in future. Such a person can also chose a nominative representative who would take care of him or her, the minister said.

It clearly defines mental illness and mental healthcare, he said, adding that the earlier definition was vague.

There are also provisions under which a person cannot be sterilised just because he or she is a mental patient. “As per this law, we cannot separate a child for three years... Also, one cannot chain a mentally-ill person,” the minister further said. “We tried to see that the patient is protected and no coercive methodology is adopted,” he added.

Persons who will not adhere to it will be liable to penalty and imprisonment. This is a very progressive Bill,” he said.

The Bill focusses on community based treatment. Special provisions for women and health have also been provided for. Among the various objectives, it provides for ensuring healthcare, treatment and rehabilitation of persons with mental illness “in a manner that does not intrude on their rights and dignity”.

India is a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, an international human rights treaty of the United Nations. Around six to seven per cent of India’s population suffers from some kind of mental illnesses, while one to two per cent suffer from acute mental diseases.

Participating in the discussion on the Bill, Congress member Shashi Tharoor said it was first brought in 2013 by then health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, and it has taken so long for this government to bring it back.

Taking a dig at the government, he said it has brought several Bills like those relating to Aadhar, FDI and insurance, which were drafted and prepared by the erstwhile UPA government.

“My party is with him (Mr Nadda) on this... If we want a modern and progressive society, we need this law,” he said, adding that people suffering from any mental disorder carry the stigma that “ye toh pagal hai (he/she is mad)”.

Apparently referring to Thursday’s incident when a Shiv Sena MP assaulted an Air India staffer, he said when “we talk about such persons”, there are also incidents where an airline staffer has misbehaved with mentally ill people.

Citing certain figures and reports, Mr Tharoor said women and children in mental hospitals were treated worse than animals. There were about 50 million people suffering from such problems in the country.

If someone visits a psychologist or a psychiatrist, instead of helping the person, people start distancing themselves from him or her, the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram said.

Explaining the grave situation, he said many people who are suffering from these problems live in a denial mode and “they are unwilling to seek help”.

He said a famous Bollywood actress (Deepika Padukone) has talked about the way she fought with depression, and added that such persons can become a role model for the society.

Talking about suicides, he said according to the National Crime Records Bureau’s 2014 report, 15 suicides happen every hour.

“Suicide is an issue,” he said, adding there are so many things attached to this and one is unemployment. “There are no jobs in our economy today despite assurances from the Prime Minister,” the MP added.