Morung Express News
Kohima | October 27
The Gauhati High Court, Kohima Bench, on October 26, has directed the State Government to complete the process to notify the Nagaland State Mental Health Rules, 2022 at the earliest and to file a compliance affidavit in 3 weeks.
The single-judge bench of Justice Songkhupchung Serto issued the direction while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) urging the Court direction’s to State respondents to constitute the State Mental Health Authority as per the provisions of the National Mental Health Care Act, 2017, among others. The PIL prayed for HC’s direction for the constitution of Mental Health Review Boards as mandated by the same Act in all the districts of Nagaland.
During the hearing on Wednesday, the Court observed that as per the affidavit filed by the State respondents (State of Nagaland, Represented by the Chief Secretary And Commissioner and Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare), it appears that State Mental Health Authority has been reconstituted and the draft rules -the Nagaland State Mental Health Rules, 2022 is going through the required process for notification.
Further it was submitted that two Mental Health Review Boards, one in Kohima and the other in Tuensang, having jurisdiction all over the State has been constituted and notified on September 19, 2022.
Accordingly, Justice Serto said that by these actions it “appears that the prayer of the petitioner in this PIL has been substantially answered.”
“However, effective functioning of the bodies so constituted would not be possible unless the rule mentioned above is notified,” he added, subsequently issuing the directive.
