Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2016 Dec;58(Suppl 2):S181-S186.
doi: 10.4103/0019-5545.196828.

Mental health and the law: An overview and need to develop and strengthen the discipline of forensic psychiatry in India

Pratima Murthy  1 , B C Malathesh  1 , C Naveen Kumar  1 , Suresh Bada Math  1
Affiliations
Review

Mental health and the law: An overview and need to develop and strengthen the discipline of forensic psychiatry in India

Pratima Murthy et al. Indian J Psychiatry. 2016 Dec.

Abstract

Human rights and mental health care of vulnerable population need supportive legislations and policies. Both "hard" and "soft" laws relevant to mental health care have been devised internationally and locally. Amendments in laws and the formulation of new laws are often required and have been seen to occur in the area of mental health care in India. So far, reform in mental health care has largely been reactive, but newer legislations and policies carry the hope of proactive reform. The lack of trained human resources is one of the biggest problems in effective mental health care delivery in India. While postgraduate psychiatric guidelines recommend a 2-week training in forensic psychiatry, this is insufficient to develop the necessary competence in the area. There is, thus, a need to develop subspecialty of forensic psychiatry. Forensic psychiatric services also need to be developed, properly structured, and supported. There is a need to set up one or more centers of excellence in forensic psychiatry in India.

Keywords: Forensic psychiatry; India; law; mental health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Various facets of mental illness and law
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

  • Interface of Law and Psychiatric Problems in the Elderly.
    Sivakumar PT, Mukku SSR, Tiwari SC, Varghese M, Gupta S, Rathi L. Sivakumar PT, et al. Indian J Psychiatry. 2022 Mar;64(Suppl 1):S163-S175. doi: 10.4103/indianjpsychiatry.indianjpsychiatry_47_21. Epub 2022 Mar 22. Indian J Psychiatry. 2022. PMID: 35599664 Free PMC article. No abstract available.
  • Psychiatrist in Court: Indian Scenario.
    Basavaraju V, Enara A, Gowda GS, Harihara SN, Manjunatha N, Kumar CN, Math SB. Basavaraju V, et al. Indian J Psychol Med. 2019 Mar-Apr;41(2):126-132. doi: 10.4103/IJPSYM.IJPSYM_53_19. Indian J Psychol Med. 2019. PMID: 30983659 Free PMC article. Review.

References

    1. World Health Organization. WHO Resource Book on Mental Health, Human Rights and Legislation. Geneva: World Health Organization Publication; 2005. - PubMed
    1. Math SB, Nagaraja D. Mental health legislations: An Indian perspective. In: Nagaraja D, Murthy P, editors. Mental Health and Human Rights. Bangalore: National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (Deemed University); 2008.
    1. Rosenthal E, Sundram CJ. The Role of International Human Rights in National Mental Health Legislation. Department of Mental Health and Substance Dependence, World Health Organization. 2004. [Last accessed on 2016 Dec 01]. Available from: http://www.who.int/mental_health/policy/international_hr_in_national_mhl... .
    1. United Nations. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 1948. [Last accessed on 2016 Dec 01]. Available from: http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/
    1. International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. 1965. [Last accessed on 2016 Dec 01]. Available from: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/cerd.htm .