SC notice to Centre, states on a plea alleging shortage of essential drugs for mental health

The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to the Centre and States on a plea alleging essential drugs for mental treatment have yet not been notified by them, affecting the health of poor citizens.

A bench presided over by Chief Justice S A Bobde sought a response from the Union as well as state governments on a PIL filed by advocate and mental health activist Gaurav Kumar Bansal.

In his PIL, the advocate pointed out the Union Health Ministry has issued a notification on August 16, 2019, which has been addressed to principal secretaries of states to provide the "essential psychotherapeutic drugs", free of cost, in government run hospitals.

However as per RTI replies and information gathered, it seemed that all the states and Union Territories were not adhering to the said notification and violated Section 18 of the Mental Health Care Act, 2017.

He contended since last one year, Uttar Pradesh government has not finalised the essential drugs list notification, depriving the poor of necessary medications.

Similarly, Bansal said, the RTI responses of other states, including Delhi, showed that many states were not providing essential drugs and medicines to the persons with mental illness.

"It is a matter of shame that after 73 years of independence, poor patients of our country, suffering from mental illness were not getting "essential drugs" as specified by Ministry of Health Family Welfare," he stated in his petition.