Mental Healthcare Act

Early one Sunday morning, Latha (not her real name) and her husband were woken by police at their door demanding she accompany them to the local station. Having just returned from the hospital where she had received emergency treatment for attempting to poison herself, Latha had been relieved and grateful to finally be back home. But following this police harassment and intrusive questioning by her neighbours, a deep sorrow began to envelop her again. Latha's story is sadly very common in India. In 2021, over 164,000 people were reported to have died by suicide in the country, a 7.2 per cent increase in the number of suicides compared to 2020. Attempted suicide was a punishable offence under Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code until the passing of the Mental Healthcare Act in 2018, which in effect decriminalised suicide by creating a massive exception to Section 309. Section 115 of the act presumes that a person who has attempted suicide is under severe stress. Instead of punishm

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