The Mental Healthcare Act, 2017

(1) This Act may be called the Mental Healthcare Act,2017. (2) It shall extend to the whole of India. (3) It shall come into force on such-date1 as the Central Government may, by notification in the OfficialGazette, appoint; or on the date of completion of the period of nine months from the date on which theMental Healthcare Act, 2017 receives the assent of the President.

(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-- (a) "advance directive" means an advance directive made by a person under section 5; (b) "appropriate Government" means,-- (i) in relation to a mental health establishment established, owned or controlled by the CentralGovernment or the Administrator of a Union territory having no legislature, the CentralGovernment; (ii) in relation to a mental health establishment, other than an establishment referred to insub-clause (i), established, owned or controlled within the territory of-- (A) a State, the State Government; (B) a Union territory having legislature, the Government of that Union territory; (c) "Authority" means the Central Mental Health Authority or the State Mental Health Authority,as the case may be; (d) "Board" means the Mental Health Review Board constituted by the State Authority undersub-section (1) of section 80 in such manner as may be prescribed; (e) "care-giver" means a person who resides with a person with mental illness and is responsible forproviding care to that person and includes a relative or any other person who performs this function,either free or with remuneration; (f) "Central Authority" means the Central Mental Health Authority constituted undersection 33; (g) "clinical psychologist" means a person-- (i) having a recognised qualification in Clinical Psychology from an institution approved andrecognised, by the Rehabilitation Council of India, constituted under section 3 of the RehabilitationCouncil of India Act, 1992 (34 of 1992); or (ii) having a Post-Graduate degree in Psychology or Clinical Psychology or Applied Psychologyand a Master of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology or Medical and Social Psychology obtained aftercompletion of a full time course of two years which includes supervised clinical training from anyUniversity recognised by the University Grants Commission established under the University GrantsCommission Act, 1956 (3 of 1956) and approved and recognised by the Rehabilitation Council ofIndia Act, 1992 (34 of 1992) or such recognised qualifications as may be prescribed; (h) "family" means a group of persons related by blood, adoption or marriage; (i) "informed consent" means consent given for a specific intervention, without any force, undueinfluence, fraud, threat, mistake or misrepresentation, and obtained after disclosing to a person adequateinformation including risks and benefits of, and alternatives to, the specific intervention in a languageand manner understood by the person; (j) "least restrictive alternative" or "least restrictive environment" or "less restrictive option"means offering an option for treatment or a setting for treatment which-- (i) meets the person's treatment needs; and (ii) imposes the least restriction on the person's rights; (k) "local authority" means a Municipal Corporation or Municipal Council, or Zilla Parishad, orNagar Panchayat, or Panchayat, by whatever name called, and includes such other authority or bodyhaving administrative control over the mental health establishment or empowered under any law for thetime being in force, to function as a local authority in any city or town or village; (l) "Magistrate" means-- (i) in relation to a metropolitan area within the meaning of clause (k) of section 2 of the Code ofCriminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), a Metropolitan Magistrate; (ii) in relation to any other area, the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Sub-divisional Judicial Magistrateor such other Judicial Magistrate of the first class as the State Government may, by notification,empower to perform the functions of a Magistrate under this Act; (m) "medical officer in charge" in relation to any mental health establishment means the psychiatristor medical practitioner who, for the time being, is in charge of that mental health establishment; (n) "medical practitioner" means a person who possesses a recognised medical qualification-- (i) as defined in clause (h) of section 2 of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 (102 of 1956),and whose name has been entered in the State Medical Register, as defined in clause (k) of thatsection; or (ii) as defined in clause (h) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Indian Medicine Central CouncilAct, 1970 (48 of 1970), and whose name has been entered in a State Register of Indian Medicine, asdefined in clause (j) of sub-section (1) of that section; or (iii) as defined in clause (g) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Homoeopathy Central CouncilAct, 1973 (59 of 1973), and whose name has been entered in a State Register of Homoeopathy, asdefined in clause (i) of sub-section (1) of that section; (o) "Mental healthcare" includes analysis and diagnosis of a person's mental condition and treatmentas well as care and rehabilitation of such person for his mental illness or suspected mental illness; (p) "mental health establishment" means any health establishment, including Ayurveda, Yoga andNaturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy establishment, by whatever name called, either wholly orpartly, meant for the care of persons with mental illness, established, owned, controlled or maintained bythe appropriate Government, local authority, trust, whether private or public, corporation, co-operativesociety, organisation or any other entity or person, where persons with mental illness are admitted andreside at, or kept in, for care, treatment, convalescence and rehabilitation, either temporarily orotherwise; and includes any general hospital or general nursing home established or maintained by theappropriate Government, local authority, trust, whether private or public, corporation, co-operative society, organisation or any other entity or person; but does not include a family residential place wherea person with mental illness resides with his relatives or friends; (q) "mental health nurse" means a person with a diploma or degree in general nursing or diploma ordegree in psychiatric nursing recognised by the Nursing Council of India established under the NursingCouncil of India Act, 1947 (38 of 1947) and registered as such with the relevant nursing council in theState; (r) "mental health professional" means-- (i) a psychiatrist as defined in clause (y); or (ii) a professional registered with the concerned State Authority under section 55; or (iii) a professional having a post-graduate degree (Ayurveda) in Mano Vigyan Avum ManasRoga or a post-graduate degree (Homoeopathy) in Psychiatry or a post-graduate degree (Unani) inMoalijat (Nafasiyatt) or a post-graduate degree (Siddha) in Sirappu Maruthuvam; (s) "mental illness" means a substantial disorder of thinking, mood, perception, orientation ormemory that grossly impairs judgment, behaviour, capacity to recognise reality or ability to meet theordinary demands of life, mental conditions associated with the abuse of alcohol and drugs, but does notinclude mental retardation which is a condition of arrested or incomplete development of mind of aperson, specially characterised by subnormality of intelligence; (t) "minor" means a person who has not completed the age of eighteen years; (u) "notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette and the expression notifyshall be construed accordingly; (v) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (w) "prisoner with mental illness" means a person with mental illness who is an under-trial orconvicted of an offence and detained in a jail or prison; (x) "psychiatric social worker" means a person having a post-graduate degree in Social Work and aMaster of Philosophy in Psychiatric Social Work obtained after completion of a full time course of twoyears which includes supervised clinical training from any University recognised by the UniversityGrants Commission established under the University Grants Commission Act, 1956 (3 of 1956) or suchrecognised qualifications, as may be prescribed; (y) "psychiatrist" means a medical practitioner possessing a post-graduate degree or diploma inpsychiatry awarded by an university recognised by the University Grants Commission established underthe University Grants Commission Act, 1956 (3 of 1956), or awarded or recognised by the NationalBoard of Examinations and included in the First Schedule to the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956(102 of 1956), or recognised by the Medical Council of India, constituted under the Indian MedicalCouncil Act, 1956, and includes, in relation to any State, any medical officer who having regard to hisknowledge and experience in psychiatry, has been declared by the Government of that State to be apsychiatrist for the purposes of this Act; (z) "regulations" means regulations made under this Act; (za) "relative" means any person related to the person with mental illness by blood, marriage oradoption; (zb) "State Authority" means the State Mental Health Authority established under section 45. (2) The words and expressions used and not defined in this Act but defined in the Indian MedicalCouncil Act, 1956 (102 of 1956) or the Indian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970 (48 of 1970) and notinconsistent with this Act shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in those Acts.

(1) Mental illness shall be determined in accordance with suchnationally or internationally accepted medical standards (including the latest edition of the InternationalClassification of Disease of the World Health Organisation) as may be notified by the Central Government. (2) No person or authority shall classify a person as a person with mental illness, except for purposesdirectly relating to the treatment of the mental illness or in other matters as covered under this Act or anyother law for the time being in force. (3) Mental illness of a person shall not be determined on the basis of, (a) political, economic or social status or membership of a cultural, racial or religious group, or forany other reason not directly relevant to mental health status of the person; (b) non-conformity with moral, social, cultural, work or political values or religious beliefs prevailingin a person's community. (4) Past treatment or hospitalisation in a mental health establishment though relevant, shall not by itselfjustify any present or future determination of the person's mental illness. (5) The determination of a person's mental illness shall alone not imply or be taken to mean that theperson is of unsound mind unless he has been declared as such by a competent court.

(1) Every person, including aperson with mental illness shall be deemed to have capacity to make decisions regarding his mentalhealthcare or treatment if such person has ability to (a) understand the information that is relevant to take a decision on the treatment or admission orpersonal assistance; or (b) appreciate any reasonably foreseeable consequence of a decision or lack of decision on thetreatment or admission or personal assistance; or (c) communicate the decision under sub-clause (a) by means of speech, expression, gesture or anyother means. (2) The information referred to in sub-section (1) shall be given to a person using simple language,which such person understands or in sign language or visual aids or any other means to enable him tounderstand the information. (3) Where a person makes a decision regarding his mental healthcare or treatment which is perceived byothers as inappropriate or wrong, that by itself, shall not mean that the person does not have the capacity tomake mental healthcare or treatment decision, so long as the person has the capacity to make mentalhealthcare or treatment decision under sub-section (1).

(1) Every person, who is not a minor, shall have a right to make an advancedirective in writing, specifying any or all of the following, namely: (a) the way the person wishes to be cared for and treated for a mental illness; (b) the way the person wishes not to be cared for and treated for a mental illness; (c) the individual or individuals, in order of precedence, he wants to appoint as his nominatedrepresentative as provided under section 14. (2) An advance directive under sub-section (1) may be made by a person irrespective of his past mentalillness or treatment for the same. (3) An advance directive made under sub-section (1), shall be invoked only when such person ceases tohave capacity to make mental healthcare or treatment decisions and shall remain effective until such personregains capacity to make mental healthcare or treatment decisions. (4) Any decision made by a person while he has the capacity to make mental healthcare and treatmentdecisions shall over-ride any previously written advance directive by such person. (5) Any advance directive made contrary to any law for the time being in force shall be ab initio void.