Telangana High Court issued notices to the State government, the National Women and Child Welfare Commissioner and others, after hearing a PIL petition seeking a direction to the government to come to the rescue of all mentally challenged persons in the State.
A bench of Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice Chada Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy passed this instruction in the PIL plea filed by Integrated New Life Society for Education and Development (INSED) represented by its founder president M. Manohar. The petitioner wanted the HC to instruct the government to provide food, clothes, shelter and medication to all mentally ill destitute in the State.
Petitioner’s counsel P. Padma Rao told the bench that the Mental Health Care Act-2017 mandated establishment of one rehabilitation centre in each district for the welfare of the mentally challenged persons. However, the authorities failed to comply with the provisions of the Act and this was illegal, the lawyer contended.
Mr. Padma Rao informed the bench that INSED had been running a shelter home for the mentally ill persons on a two-acre land allotted by the Government in Sangareddy district since year 2000. In the past two decades, the home had helped over 700 mentally challenged persons become normal. Presently, 57 such persons were being provided accommodation at the home, the lawyer said.
The bench impleaded the Telangana State Legal Services Authority in the petition. Notices were issued to Principal Secretary of Disabled Welfare, Telangana State Vaidya Vidhana Parishad, Telangana Women and Child Welfare Commissioner, the Director of Medical Education and others.
They were instructed to file counter affidavits in the matter. The petition was posted to September 13 for next hearing.
