Cured persons languishing in hospitals; SC notice to 6 states

The Supreme Court today sought responses from six states on a petition seeking release of nearly 300 persons, who are still languishing in mental hospitals in Uttar Pradesh despite being cured of their ailments.
A bench comprising 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.
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.
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In response to a query as to why the petitioner did not approach the High Court, Bansal said he approached the apex court as there were patients from six states who are normal and fit to be discharged.
In his plea, the petitioner has said he had filed applications under Right to Information Act in three mental hospitals of Uttar Pradesh seeking information about the patients who are normal and fit for discharge.

He claimed to have taken legal interviews of some of the patients admitted in the Bareilly hospital and found these persons to be as normal as other human beings and wished to live free.
"That this court in its various judgments had observed that the Right to Life includes 'right to live with dignity' and in the present case the patients who are absolutely normal are forced to live with the mentally ill persons since last many years and hence their fundamental rights are infringed by the respondents," the plea said.
It said that the "inability of the government to provide social security to such persons is also questionable and thus needs urgent intervention from this court."

The plea said the living conditions of patients who were absolutely normal, along with the mentally ill patients, was "totally unsatisfactory", "unethical" and "unconstitutional" and infringed the fundamental rights of the individual.
It sought direction to the Uttar Pradesh government and the hospitals to make arrangements to shift the patients who are normal and fit for discharge from the hospital to any other secure place like old age homes.