Rajya Sabha nod for Mental Health Care Bill, 2013

The Mental Health Care Bill, 2013, moved for consideration by Health Minister JP Nadda, was passed by the House through a voice vote with 135 amendments brought by the Government. Replying to a discussion on the Bill, Nadda said, “It is a very progressive Bill brought after due consultations. All steps have been taken to make the Bill a meaningful one.” 

The Bill, that repeals the Mental Health Act, 1987, was introduced in the Upper House on August 19, 2013 by the then Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. The Bill was necessitated as the existing Act does not adequately protect the rights of persons with mental illness nor promote their access to mental health care. 

The Bill also specifies the process and procedure to be followed for admission, treatment and discharge of mentally ill individuals. A decision to be admitted in a mental health establishment shall, as far as possible, be made by the person with the mental illness except when he is unable to make an independent decision or conditions exist to make a supported admission unavoidable.