HC directs Punjab, Haryana to ensure compliance with Mental Healthcare Act

In a significant development concerning mental healthcare infrastructure, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the states of Punjab and Haryana to ensure compliance with all mandatory provisions of the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017. The bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sumeet Goel has also sought compliance affidavits from the Chief Secretaries of both the states by March 28.

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“Looking to the urgency of the matter, the state of Punjab as also state of Haryana are directed to ensure compliance of all the mandatory provisions of the Mental Health Care Act, 2017 and file a compliance affidavit of the Chief Secretaries of the respective states before the next date of hearing,” the bench asserted.

The directive came in a public interest litigation filed against the state of Punjab by Pushpanjali Trust through petitioner-in-person Aditya Rametra

Establishment of group homes

Among other things, the petitioner sought initiation of appropriate steps to establish community-based group homes for persons with mental illness, as mandated under Section 19(3) of the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017. The petition also prayed for the formulation of a comprehensive policy for the same within a stipulated time frame.

The petition urged the court to direct the states to conduct a needs-assessment survey to determine the requirement for group homes in each district. The petitioner claimed such a survey was essential for robust policy formulation, as a significant population in Punjab and Haryana required residential care facilities, particularly when their primary caregivers became incapable of supporting them.

Punjab’s 2016-2017 Mental Health Survey findings

The petition drew attention to an exhaustive study — National Mental Health Survey Punjab State Report 2016-17. According to the survey, the estimated prevalence of severe mental disorders and substance use disorders varied between 0.7 per cent and 7.58 per cent of Punjab’s total population. Referring to the statistics, the petitioner submitted that the number of persons requiring institutional support services ran into several lakhs. Many of these individuals urgently required facilities such as group homes, particularly in cases where their caregivers are elderly or unable to continue providing care.

Repeated representations and government inaction

The petitioner submitted that the respondent-authorities had failed to act upon their statutory obligations despite numerous representations and follow-ups. The authorised representative of Pushpanjali Trust conducted multiple meetings with the State authorities regarding the establishment of group homes, including discussions between July 2021 and May 2022. Furthermore, several email reminders were sent from July 2021 to May 2023. Despite persistent efforts, concrete steps were not taken, even though more than six years had passed since the enactment of the Act and five years since the original representation was made in March 2019.

Legislative mandate for community living

The petition referred to the legal mandate enshrined in Section 19 of the Act, which grants individuals with mental illness the right to live in the community. The provision makes it clear that persons with mental illness must not be institutionalised if they can be supported within a community setting. It places a statutory duty on the state governments to ensure the availability of group homes and community-based living arrangements.

The petition further cited the National Mental Health Survey 2016, which found that over 10 per cent of India’s adult population suffered from a diagnosable mental disorder, with nearly 2 per cent suffering from severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, psychoses, and bipolar affective disorder. The petitioner contended that the lack of adequate group home facilities had left thousands of families in distress, forcing them to worry about the future of their mentally ill wards when they were no longer around to care for them.