New bill says suicide not an act of crime

August 22, 2013

New Delhi, Aug 22: The new mental health care bill, which seeks to decriminalise suicide and make access to affordable mental health care a right for all, was introduced in Rajya Sabha this week. suicide

For the first time in the history of criminal law reform in the country, Mental Health Care Bill, 2013 seeks to decriminalise acts of suicide by linking them to the state of mental health of the person attempting the act.

The Bill explicitly states that acts of suicide will not be criminalised and those attempting suicide would be treated as mentally ill unless proved otherwise and therefore exempted from the current provisions of Section 309 of Indian Penal Code.

Section 124 of the Bill states, “Notwithstanding anything contained in Section 309 of the IPC, any person who attempts suicide shall be presumed, unless proved otherwise, to be suffering from mental illness at the time of the bid and shall not be liable to punishment under the said section.”

The Bill thus clarifies that the act of suicide and the mental health of the person committing the act are inseparably linked and have to be seen together and not in isolation.

Moved by the Ministry of Health, the Bill lays down a proper provision for the treatment of persons attempting suicide.

It seeks to provide for mental health care for persons with mental illnesses and to protect, promote and fulfil the rights of such persons during the delivery of mental health care and services.

It is the first time that the Government has come up with a rights based approach in the mental health law.

The Law Commission will separately move this amendment to the Criminal Law which would eventually be effected by the Home Ministry.

However, Health Ministry sources said the Law Ministry agreed on the proposed section in the new Mental Health Care Bill to decriminalise suicide.

“It is a landmark Bill which takes care of the rights of the mentally ill. It is forward looking and India needed such a law. It strongly protects the rights of mentally ill and puts a lot of onus for the welfare of the ill on the Government,” a Health Ministry official said.

The Bill fills the long standing gap in the mental health law in India after the country ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities requiring it to harmonise its laws with those prevalent worldwide. India had signed the convention on October 1, 2007 and it came into force on May 3, 2008.

Once the Parliament passes the Bill and it is assented by the President, it will replace the Mental Health Act of 1987.

The new Bill guarantees several rights to the mentally ill - from the right to privacy in mental health establishments to the right to dignity. It bars inhuman practices such as electro convulsive therapy without anaesthesia, sterilisation as a treatment for illness, chaining and tonsuring of heads of the mentally ill.

The Bill also provides stringent penalties for those found running unregistered mental health care establishments which would be fined with Rs. 50,000 to Rs. five lakh depending on the frequency of the offence.

It seeks to regulate the public and private mental health sectors and establish a mental health system integrated into all levels of general health care.

The law also provides for the Advance Directive to be furnished in writing by a person, irrespective of his mental illness, and registered with a Mental Board to be set up by the government at state and central levels. This directive allows the individual to appoint a nominated representative to deal with the kind of treatment he wants in the case he falls mentally ill in future.

The Bill provides for a State Mental Health Authority and a Central Mental Health Authority along with a Mental Health Review Commission to regulate the sector and register institutions.

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coastaldigest.com web desk
January 14,2020

Mangaluru, Jan 14: Mangaluru city police commissionerate his notified traffic diversions on NH 73 in view of massive protest at Adyra Kannur in the city against CAA, NPR and NRC on January 15. It also has issued guidelines for the public, protesters and organisers of the protest.

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News Network
April 24,2020

Wayanad/Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 24: Amid the strict lockdown, a school teacher travelled from Thiruvananthapuram to Muthanga in Wayanad -- a distance of about 465 km -- on her way to neighbouring Karnataka en route to Delhi following which cases have been registered against her and an excise official.

The woman, Kamna Sharma, said to be working in Kendriya Vidyalaya, Pattom, undertook the journey on April 21 along with her two year-old daughter, police sources told news agency PTI.

An Excise Circle Inspector, Shahjahan, had provided his vehicle to travel allegedly on the instructions of Malappuram excise officer, in whose private vehicle, the woman and the child had reached Wayanad border from Thiruvananthapuram, the sources said.

The two were charged under the Kerala Epidemic Act and various sections of the IPC including sect 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection) and 271 (disobedience to quarantine rule).

Because of the lockdown even inter-district travel is not allowed by police and district administration, unless there is an extremely genuine reason.

A senior police official in Thiruvananthapuram said he does not remember issuing any such pass.

The woman may have "misused" government machinery as private vehicles would have been stopped somewhere during the long journey, he said.

She came to Kalpetta in Wayanad allegedly in an official car of the excise department.

Wayanad District police chief R Elango said that an FIR has been filed based on preliminary information and investigations have begun.

"We will check if she has followed procedures in obtaining a pass and if she made any false claim to get the pass."

As per preliminary information the woman came in an excise official's car from Thamarassery (Kozhikode) to Muthunga(Wayanad), he said. Her mode of transport before that--from Thiruvananthapuram to Wayanad--will also be investigated, he said, adding they have no information if she has reached Delhi.

"We will track down her movement," he said Meanwhile, theWayanad district administration has intensified the lockdown protocol from Thursday to prevent people's movement within and from outside the district/state.

Interception at all the check posts on district an state borders of the district, bordering Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, will also be intensified. No one would be allowed to travel frequently to and fro the district under the pretext of official duty.

Wayanad collector Adhila Abdulla said officials from outside the district will no longer be allowed to commute daily.

"Elderly people above the age of 65 should confine to their homes unless it is extremely urgent or unavoidable. Cases will be registered against family members who allow elderly people to go out for buying medicines and other essentials," she said.

Senior citizens, who live alone, can call either the Fire (101) or Police (100) departments for any help and to get things they need, the collector said.

Whatever relaxations were in place have also been withdrawn with effect from Thursday, she added.

Wayanad and Thiruvananthapuram come under the "Orange B" zone where there are some relaxations.

However, Thiruvananthapuram city limits falls under the hotspot area.

Police said a case was also registered against a doctor and her husband who entered Kerala from Tamil Nadu border.

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News Network
March 28,2020

Bengaluru, Mar 27: A software engineer has been arrested for giving a "call" to the people to sneeze in the open and spread coronavirus, police said on Friday.
The person identified as Mujeeb Mohammad had made this call in a Facebook post.
"Let's join hands, go out and sneeze with open mouth in public. Spread the virus," he wrote.

"The person who put this post saying people should go out and sneeze and spread the virus has been detained. His name is Mujeeb. He works in a software company," Bengaluru Joint Commissioner of Police Sandeep Patil said in a statement.

40 migrant labourers working in Mumbai caught while trying to flee to UP in truck, booked
Meanwhile, Infosys tweeted: "We are deeply concerned with an inappropriate post being attributed to an Infosys employee. We strongly reaffirm our commitment to responsible social-sharing.

The company also said, "Our preliminary enquiry, and discussions with our employees suggest that this could be a case of a mistaken identity."
"However, given the seriousness with which we take such matters, we are investigating this further and will also assist with any independent investigation. The company would take appropriate action based on its investigation," it added

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