RESPONSIBILITIES OF OTHER AGENCIES
100. Duties of police officers in respect of persons with mental illness.—(1) Every officer in charge of a police station shall have a duty—
(a) to take under protection any person found wandering at large within the limits of the police station whom the officer has reason to believe has mental illness and is incapable of taking care of himself; or
(b) to take under protection any person within the limits of the police station whom the officer has reason to believe to be a risk to himself or others by reason of mental illness.
(2) The officer in charge of a police station shall inform the person who has been taken into protection under sub-section (1), the grounds for taking him into such protection or his nominated representative, if in the opinion of the officer such person has difficulty in understanding those grounds.
(3) Every person taken into protection under sub-section (1) shall be taken to the nearest public health establishment as soon as possible but not later than twenty four hours from the time of being taken into protection, for assessment of the person's healthcare needs.
(4) No person taken into protection under sub-section (1) shall be detained in the police lock up or prison in any circumstances.
(5) The medical officer in charge of the public health establishment shall be responsible for arranging the assessment of the person and the needs of the person with mental illness will be addressed as per other provisions of this Act as applicable in the particular circumstances.
(6) The medical officer or mental health professional in charge of the public mental health establishment if on assessment of the person finds that such person does not have a mental illness of a nature or degree requiring admission to the mental health establishment, he shall inform his assessment to the police officer who had taken the person into protection and the police officer shall take the person to the person's residence or in case of homeless persons, to a Government establishment for homeless persons.
(7) In case of a person with mental illness who is homeless or found wandering in the community, a First Information Report of a missing person shall be lodged at the concerned police station and the station house officer shall have a duty to trace the family of such person and inform the family about the whereabouts of the person.
101. Report to Magistrate of person with mental illness in private residence who is ill-treated or neglected.—(1) Every officer in charge of a police station, who has reason to believe that any person residing within the limits of the police station has a mental illness and is being illtreated or neglected, shall forthwith report the fact to the Magistrate within the local limits of whose jurisdiction the person with mental illness resides.
(2) Any person who has reason to believe that a person has mental illness and is being ill-treated or neglected by any person having responsibility for care of such person, shall report the fact to the police officer in charge of the police station within whose jurisdiction the person with mental illness resides.
(3) If the Magistrate has reason to believe based on the report of a police officer or otherwise, that any person with mental illness within the local limits of his jurisdiction is being ill-treated or neglected, the Magistrate may cause the person with mental illness to be produced before him and pass an order in accordance with the provisions of Section 102.
102. Conveying or admitting person with mental illness to mental health establishment by Magistrate.—(1) When any person with mental illness or who may have a mental illness appears or is brought before a Magistrate, the Magistrate may, order in writing—
(a) that the person is conveyed to a public mental health establishment for assessment and treatment, if necessary and the mental health establishment shall deal with such person in accordance with the provisions of the Act; or
(b) to authorise the admission of the person with mental illness in a mental health establishment for such period not exceeding ten days to enable the medical officer or mental health professional in charge of the mental health establishment to carry out an assessment of the person and to plan for necessary treatment, if any.
(2) On completion of the period of assessment referred to in sub-section (1), the medical officer or mental health professional in charge of the mental health establishment shall submit a report to the Magistrate and the person shall be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
103. Prisoners with mental illness.—(1) An order under Section 30 of the Prisoners Act, 1900 (3 of 1900) or under Section 144 of the Air Force Act, 1950 (45 of 1950), or under Section 145 of the Army Act, 1950 (46 of 1950), or under Section 143 or Section 144 of the Navy Act, 1957 (62 of 1957), or under Section 330 or Section 335 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), directing the admission of a prisoner with mental illness into any suitable mental health establishment, shall be sufficient authority for the admission of such person in such establishment to which such person may be lawfully transferred for care and treatment therein:
Provided that transfer of a prisoner with mental illness to the psychiatric ward in the medical wing of the prison shall be sufficient to meet the requirements under this section:
104. Persons in custodial institutions.—(1) If it appears to the person in charge of a State run custodial institution (including beggars homes, orphanages, women's protection homes and children homes) that any resident of the institution has, or is likely to have, a mental illness, then, he shall take such resident of the institution to the nearest mental health establishment run or funded by the appropriate Government for assessment and treatment, as necessary.
(2) The medical officer in charge of a mental health establishment shall be responsible for assessment of the person with mental illness, and the treatment required by such persons shall be decided in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
105. Question of mental illness in judicial process.—If during any judicial process before any competent court, proof of mental illness is produced and is challenged by the other party, the court shall refer the same for further scrutiny to the concerned Board and the Board shall, after examination of the person alleged to have a mental illness either by itself or through a committee of experts, submit its opinion to the court.
115. Presumption of severe stress in case of attempt to commit suicide.—(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) any person who attempts to commit suicide shall be presumed, unless proved otherwise, to have severe stress and shall not be tried and punished under the said Code.
(2) The appropriate Government shall have a duty to provide care, treatment and rehabilitation to a person, having severe stress and who attempted to commit suicide, to reduce the risk of recurrence of attempt to commit suicide.
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