Court: Can’t give medicine arbitrarily to mentally sick

Jaipur: Rajasthan high court has restrained the family of a mentally sick person from administering medicine arbitrarily without the consent of the patient and without following the prescription of a licenced psychiatrist. The single bench of Justice Deepak Maheshwari gave the directions on a criminal revision petition by Vijayapal Singh who accused his family members of torture and cruelty after branding him as mentally insane.
Shalini Sharon, counsel for the petitioner said the petitioner approached the high court after his petition in a lower court under section 25 of the Mental Health Act 1987 accusing the family of ill-treating and perpetrating cruelty towards him alleging that he is mentally sick was dismissed.

According to section 25 of the Act, “Every officer in charge of a police station, who has reason to believe that any person within the limits of his station is mentally ill and is not under proper care and control, or is ill-treated or neglected by any relative or other person having charge of such mentally ill person, shall forthwith report the fact to the magistrate within the local limits of whose jurisdiction the mentally ill person resides.”

However, the magistrate on a medical report produced by the police made prior to the filing of the complaint dismissed plea of the petitioner seeking protection against cruelty and torture by the family members. The court directed that the family members should not administer medicine without the consent of the patient and also had to follow the guidance and advice of a licenced government psychiatrist.

The court also directed the Rajasthan State Legal Services Authority (RSLSA) to provide him with all legal assistance and protection.