Kohima, August 9 (MExN): Kohima District Legal Services Authority (KDLSA) organised a one day legal awareness programme for the patients at Kripa Foundation, Kohima with Legal Aid Counsel V. Ashu Theyo, Panel Lawyer Sunjib Rana, and Lawyer Neiteo Koza as resource persons.
Speaking on the Narcotic Drugs Psychotropic Substance (NDPS) Act and Nagaland Liquor Total Prohibition (NLTP) Act, Legal Aid Counsel V. Ashu Theyo said that with the enactment of NLTP Act in Nagaland, the buying, selling or consumption of liquor is totally prohibited in the state and the breach of the provisions of the Act will invite heavy penalty. He also said that as per the NDPS Act, any person consuming or selling ganja, brown sugar, opium and other prohibited drugs will be liable to maximum punishment of 20 years. Ashu did a case study on the cause of addiction for patients and urged them to adopt healthy habits in order to fight the harmful habits, informed a press release received here.
Panel Lawyer Sunjib Rana highlighted on the “Rights of Prisoners”. He stated that anyone who is arrested for any offence has a right to be represented by a lawyer and the arrested person has a right to remain silent after his arrest and 3rd degree punishment is prohibited to be used against the arrested person. He further said that the arrested person has to be produced before the Judicial Magistrate within 24 hours of his arrest and only then police can plead for remand of the arrested person.
Speaking on the topic “Laws of Consent, Confidentiality and Discrimination,” Panel lawyer Neiteo Koza said that based on the autonomy and bodily integrity, every person has a right to determine what should be done to his body. She said that consent is defined under Contract Act as when two or more persons agree upon the same thing and the same issue.
Neiteo further stated that all kinds of medical treatment and surgical procedure involve interference with the body therefore consent is required. Consent can be given by any adult and in the case of minors and mentally challenged, the parents or guardian can give before any medical treatment or surgical procedure is conducted, she added. She also mentioned that as per the Medical Council of India Act, doctors are mandated to keep confidentiality of the personal health records of the patients at all cost unless larger public interest arises, where concealing the facts will bring harm to the community at large.
Meanwhile, Neiteo stated that though there is no comprehensive laws for the HIV/AIDS infected person, a good number of landmark judgments have been passed by the Supreme Court and the High Courts prohibiting discrimination against them. A patient suffering from any ailment has a right to get treatment and no person can be denied employment in the public sectors just because he/she is suffering from HIV/AIDS and person living with HIV/AIDS can use a pseudonym before the courts if they do not want to disclose their identity, she stated.
