The West Bengal Human Rights Commission (WBHRC) has learnt that a number of people suffering from mental illness have been placed in vagrants’ homes run by the West Bengal government, and recommended that such persons be provided medical intervention.
In its recommendation, the WBHRC directed the West Bengal government that before applying the provisions of the Bengal Vagrancy Act, 1943, the State must, “ascertain whether the person concerned is a mental patient,” and in case he or she has mental ailments, the person must be produced before doctors.
“Only after being satisfied that the person concerned is not a mental patient, an application under the provisions of Bengal Vagrancy Act should be made before the Ld (Learned) Magistrate,” the recommendation of the WBHRC said.
The communication was sent to Chief Secretary of West Bengal last month. The Commission has also found out that 225 inmates with mental health issues have been lodged in six vagrant homes across the State. The WBHRC pointed out that placing people with mental health issues in vagrants’ homes leads to overcrowding in them.
Ratnaboli Ray, a mental health rights activist, said that the recommendations of the WBHRC should be co-read along with the provisions of the Mental Health Care Act, 2017.
“The Act for which rules have recently been framed at the Centre provides scope for community living, decriminalising suicide, and a plethora of rights to people who live in mental health facilities,” Ms. Ray said.
According to her, the issue of overcrowding cannot be addressed by shifting one group of people from one facility to another. The larger question pertains to the general perception and attitude towards those suffering from mental illness, she said, explaining it was about, “Whether we want to incarcerate these people and keep them behind bars or to mainstream them.”
According to sources, the West Bengal Health Department is likely to come with their own set of rules in accordance with the Mental Health Care Act, 2017, in the next four months.
Rehabilitating vagrants
The WBHRC has also pointed out that no proper arrangement is available in the vagrants’ homes for rehabilitation of the inmates, and suggested that training should be provided to vagrants so that they can be rehabilitated.
The Commission, headed by Justice (Retd) Girish Chandra Gupta, also recommended that the homes’ authorities should hold “regular interactions with the inmates to find out their names and the particulars of their respective family members so that they could be reunited with their families.”
During the process of ascertaining the condition of vagrants’ homes of the State, the investigation wing of the WBHRC, which looked into different aspects of the homes, pointed out that in “some homes, inmates are there for five decades or even more.”
