Online ISSN: 2515-8260

A Critical Review Of India's Mental Healthcare Law

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Harikumar Pallathadka

Abstract

The concept of mental health has secured mammoth credibility in the past few years, with the focus being shifted towards enhanced mental health care professionals and facilities and attention paid towards a sounder mental and emotional health development of the youth and adults. However, the palpitating question persists: how far along has India traveled on this tumultuous journey to achieve the definitive aspiration of securing stable mental health across the country for persons of every age group? Through the means of this paper, the author will endeavor to find an answer to this question by delving into the mental healthcare laws in India [The Mental Health Act, 1987 and The Mental Healthcare Act, 2017] coupled with the understanding of international [The Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act, 1992] as well as constitutional aspects concerning mental health care laws. This paper would not be inclusive enough without mentioning some important case laws, which further the central theme of this paper. Towards the end, the author presented a few proposals, which may prove assistive for bettering the mental health care law drafting and their implementation in India. The cornerstone of this paper is to view the concept of mental health from a legalistic and social microscope at the national and international echelon.

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