Mental Healthcare Act Notified, Suicide No Longer a Crime in India

The notification comes a year after the Mental Healthcare Bill was passed in the parliament last year.

On 29 May, the Health Ministry notified the Mental Healthcare Act 2017 which decriminalises suicide, reported Hindustan Times. This development comes a year after the law was passed in the parliament last year, added the report.

The Act repealed the formerly existing Mental Health Act of 1987, which had been widely criticised for not recognising the agency and capacity of a person suffering from a mental illness, and which like many legislations around the world, was drafted to safeguard the public from ‘dangerous patients’ by simply isolating them.

Presenting the Bill in the Indian parliament last year, Union Health Minister JP Nadda had said: