Chaining mentally ill atrocious & inhuman, says SC
New Delhi, Jan 3: Chaining of mentally ill people cannot be allowed, the Supreme Court said Thursday while terming as "atrocious" and "inhuman" such conduct in a faith-based mental asylum in Uttar Pradesh.
A bench comprising Justices A.K Sikri and S Abdul Nazeer said that chaining people with mental illness was violative of their rights under Article 21 of the Constitution, which deals with life and personal liberty, and their dignity cannot be compromised.
It made the observations while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal who has said that persons with mental illness were chained in a faith-based mental asylum in Budaun district of Uttar Pradesh in violation of provisions of the Mental Health Care Act 2017.
The court perused the photographs of the patients who had been chained and said it was a matter of great concern.
"These are mentally challenged persons. You (petitioner) have placed the photographs and they all are chained. It is atrocious," the bench observed, adding that "something has to be done immediately for these poor people".
The court asked the petitioner to call a law officer of the Centre so that appropriate interim orders could be passed.
Later, when Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appeared in the matter, the bench asked him to see the photographs annexed with the petition.
"How this can be done?," the bench asked Mehta, who said it was inhuman that these persons were chained.
"In a case where a patient may be violent, even that does not mean that he will be chained. It cannot be allowed," the bench said.
Mehta told the court that he would seek instructions in the matter after which the bench fixed it for hearing on January 7.
The bench issued notices to the Centre, all states and Union Territories on the petition which has claimed that non-implementation of provisions of the Act by the states and UTs was a gross violation of life and liberty of the citizens.
The court asked Mehta to look into the issue raised by the petitioner with seriousness saying it required immediate attention.
"This (chaining a person) is not only inhuman but also violative of the rights of such persons under Article 21 of the Constitution as a person suffering from mental disability is still a human being and his dignity cannot be compromised," the bench said.
The court also noted the submissions of petitioner that chaining a person suffering from mental illness was against the provisions of the Act.
In his PIL, the petitioner has said that chaining a person suffering from mental illness was a blatant violation of a provision of the 2017 Act which says that every such person shall not only have a right to live with dignity but he or she shall be protected from cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.
He has also sought a direction to Uttar Pradesh government to not only unchain these persons but also to provide mental health care treatment to them at the earliest.
Referring to the National Mental Health Survey 2016, he has claimed that around 14 per cent of India's population requires active mental health interventions and around 2 per cent Indians were suffering from severe mental disorders.
He has also sought a direction to all the states and UTs to start a programme to provide mental health care and treatment to persons with mental illness placed near or inside faith-based mental asylums.
Besides these, the PIL has sought direction to states and UTs to establish state mental health authority as also a fund as per the provisions of the Act.
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'Godman' Kharat held in 8th sexual exploitation case; court denies police remand, sends him to jail
Nashik (PTI): Police took custody of self-proclaimed godman-cum-astrologer Ashok Kharat in an eighth case related to sexual exploitation of women and produced him before a Nashik district court which sent him to jail till May 12 after rejecting the plea for his police remand on Thursday.
On April 29, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Nashik police in north Maharashtra filed a request application in the court demanding Kharat's custody in the eighth case.
After the court granted them the necessary permission, the SIT took custody of Kharat, who was in jail in connection with the seventh case of sexual exploitation registered against him.
The 'godman', named in a dozen FIRs related to rape and financial fraud, was produced before Chief Judicial Magistrate B N Ichpurani in the eighth case through video conferencing due to security reasons.
The eighth case related to Kharat allegedly sexually exploiting a woman who had approached him in search of solutions to her family problems, according to police.
During the hearing, the prosecution demanded police custody of the accused in the latest case.
However, the defence strongly opposed the demand and argued that the SIT was giving same reasons for police custody every time and there was no strong reason for accepting their plea.
The court accepted the argument put forth by the defence and remanded Kharat to judicial custody till May 12 in the eighth case.
The SIT will produce Kharat in the court on Friday again and seek his police custody in the ninth case. As the self-styled godman has been granted judicial custody in the eighth case, he will be sent to Nashik Road Central Jail and the SIT will take his custody from there.
Meanwhile, Kharat's judicial custody in the fourth case ended on Thursday. On April 18, the accused was remanded to judicial custody till April 30 in the fourth case of sexual exploitation of women.
In a related development, the SIT conducted a search at Kharat's office in the 'Canada Corner' area of Nashik city on Wednesday. A 'panchnama' (record of search and seizure proceedings) was conducted and the office was locked and sealed again.
Kharat, a well-heeled man with political connections, was arrested for the first time on March 18 after a woman alleged he had repeatedly raped her for three years.
He is accused of sexually exploiting several women by claiming to have divine powers and knowledge of black magic, and also committing large-scale financial fraud.
The SIT is conducting a probe into 12 cases of sexual exploitation and financial fraud registered against the astrologer in Nashik and Ahilyanagar districts.
