Volume 3 Issue 9 September, 2013
Finally, the much-awaited Mental Healthcare Bill 2013 was introduced in the Rajya Sabha by health
minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on the 19th August, 2013. Drafted in consonance with international
commitments, the Bill — that will repeal the Mental Health Act, 1987 — widens the definition of mental
illness; the proposed law defines such disorders as “a disorder of mood, thought, perception, orientation
and memory which causes significant distress to a person or impairs a person’s behaviour, judgement
and ability to meet the demands of daily life and includes mental conditions associated with the use of
alcohol and drugs but does not include mental retardation”. Here are some of the major talking points of
the Mental Healthcare Bill 2013:
A. Decriminalizes attempted suicides.
B. The ability to choose treatment options by giving ‘advanced directive’ to the patients.
C. Ensure equality and dignity for the mentally ill.
D. Medical insurance to cover mental health treatment.
E. Ban on archaic and barbaric treatment methods like direct ECT.
Is it old wine in a new bottle?? Or is it a major stride after 26 long years!!! The bill needs to be debated
upon for its logical conclusion.
Consultant Psychiatrist, Bangalore.
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