Veroli Zhimo
The Mental Health Care Act, 2017 in India was passed on April 7, 2017 and came into force from July 7, 2018. The law was described in its opening paragraph as “An Act to provide for mental healthcare and services for persons with mental illness and to protect, promote and fulfill the rights of such persons during delivery of mental healthcare and services and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.”
Under Section 45 of the Act, every State Government is required to constitute an authority to be known as the State Mental Health Authority within 9 months from the date on which the Act receives the assent of the President (April 7, 2017). Such authority, when constituted, is responsible for constituting the Mental Health Review Board in all the districts as per provisions of Section 46.
In the year 2021, the Kohima Bench of the Gauhati High Court, while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) sought the Government of Nagaland’s response on whether it has set up a State Mental Health Authority as mandated by the Act. In case it has not been set up, the court sought to know why it should not be constituted as per the Act and when it would be constituted.
Consequent to the Government’s lack of response, in another hearing on June 29, 2022, the Court again directed the State respondents to file their affidavit-in-opposition within a period of 4 weeks and list out chronologically, the steps that have been taken for the establishment of the State Mental Health Authority.
In its order on June 29, the Bench noted that on various dates, time was granted to the State counsel to obtain instructions in the matter but notice has not yet been issued to the respondents. Issuing further notice and the directives to the State respondents, the Bench listed the matter again for hearing after four weeks.
The State respondents in the PIL are Government of Nagaland represented by the Chief Secretary, Civil Secretariat, and the Commissioner and Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare.
However, even on September 14 when the Court heard the matter again, the State Government had yet again failed to submit its affidavit. Instead, the Senior Government Advocate appearing for the respondents appealed for three more weeks to file the affidavit as directed by the Court in its June 29 order.
According to data of the State health department’s website, the State also appears to have an acute shortage of workforce in the field of mental health. Nagaland reportedly has only 6 psychiatrists, one each in the District Mental Health Programme (DMHP) in Dimapur, Kohima, Longleng, Mokokchung, and Phek districts while one is assigned as the State Programme Officer at the Directorate of Health and Family Welfare.
Against this backdrop, the State Government’s sidelining of mental health services, intentional or unintentional, is fundamentally wrong and can be construed as an act of discrimination against people with mental illnesses and an affront on their rights to access healthcare and treatment.
On October 1, Nagaland kicked off its 10-day awareness campaign on mental health which will culminate on World Mental Health Day (October 10). During the programme, various NGOs and representatives of the DMHPs underscored the fact that mental health services were not seen at parity with physical health and this field in the health sector has not seen substantial investments or progress in several decades.
Along with this, it is acknowledged that there needs to be an upheaval in the way mental health issues are perceived at the community level. But for this to happen, the Government must first accept and see mental health at parity with physical health and take urgent steps to implement the Mental Health Care Act, 2017. The health inequalities at play in society cannot be ignored any longer.
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