When cure is worse than illness: Families disown cured patients at Mental Hospitals despite of SC directives
“My dear mother, heartiest greetings! I hope this letter finds you in good spirits. I miss you a lot.”
These words are not an excerpt from the diary of a young girl living away from her parents but from a 35-year-old daughter who has been disowned by her mother for being mentally ill.
Eight years ago, the death of her father, a Navy commander, pushed her into psychiatric illness and since then she has remained confined to the long-stay ward at Institute of Human Behaviour and Health Sciences (IHBAS), a Delhi government-run hospital for mental illness.
After years of efforts, Rupali was in 2009 declared fit to go home.
However, the family refused to accept her. Her mother issued a legal notice saying she has disowned Rupali and the hospital has been asked not to contact the family or legal action may be initiated against it for harassment.
The Supreme Court, couple of days back, issued notices to six states on a petition seeking release of nearly 300 persons, who are still languishing in mental hospitals in Uttar Pradesh, some of them for several years, despite being cured of their ailments.
But the most of the hospital in India face similar situations as that of IHBAS.
A bench of Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice A M Khanwilkar issued notices to Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal Rajasthan, Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir and Meghalaya on a PIL seeking release of persons, who are now fit for discharge from mental hospitals and steps to ensure their social security post-discharge.
THE PRAYERS:
- Issue appropriate Writ/Orders/Directions to the Respondents to forthwith make arrangements to shift the Female and Male Normal Patients, who are absolutely normal and are fit for discharge, from the Mental Hospital, Bareilly to any other secure place like Old Age Home etc.
- Issue appropriate Writ/Orders/Directions to the Respondents to formulate effective and proper guidelines for the relief and rehabilitation of such Female and Male Normal Patients.
- Issue appropriate Writ/Orders/Directions to the Respondents to provide the names of the Female and Male Patients, who are fit for discharge and are living in Mental Hospitals situated in District Agra, District Bareilly and District Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
Advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal, who has filed the PIL in his personal capacity, said underprivileged persons are still languishing in mental hospitals despite being cured of their ailments and there was no policy in place to ensure their well being after the release.
The plea also referred to responses received under RTI with regard to release of persons who are languishing in mental hospitals at Bareilly, Varanasi and Agra in Uttar Pradesh even after being cured from their ailments.
The queries, which were posed under transparency law to Mental Health Hospital, Bareilly, Institute of Mental Health and Hospital, Agra and Mental Hospital, Varanasi, pertained to names, residential address and age of the patients who are now normal and waiting for their discharge from hospitals.
Bansal had also sought information about the year in which the patients were declared fit for the discharge.
The plea has sought issuance of directions to the states and others to forthwith make arrangements to shift the patients, who are absolutely normal and are fit for discharge, from the mental hospitals to any other secure place like Old Age Home etc.
Issue appropriate Writ/Orders/Directions to the respondents to formulate effective and proper guidelines for the relief and rehabilitation of such normal female and male patients, it said.
The hospitals in India, usually transfers the cured patients to mental asylums.
