State prisons are failing to provide basic mental healthcare facilities due to a shortage of staff, according to the recently released India Justice Report 2022 (IJR). According to the report, there are 42,577 inmates lodged in 64 prisons across Maharashtra, but only one psychiatrist and two psychologists to attend to them. The state has also not implemented the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, which mandates one mental health unit in at least one prison in each state.

mid-day had in its article titled ‘State figures at 11th spot on justice delivery: report’, dated April 13, 2023, highlighted the state’s failure to improve on the justice system, which pushed its rating down from the No1 spot held in 2020 to No11 in 2022. “The sanctioned strength of all medical officers in Maharashtra is 44, which itself is low given that there are more than 42,000 inmates and many of them need medical attention including psycho-social support and psychiatric help,” IJR project lead, Valay Singh said.

Depression, nervous breakdowns

According to Mumbai-based Ramon Magsaysay Award winner Dr Bharat Vatwani who is a practising psychiatrist, the incidence of depression and nervous breakdown is higher in prison populace than in lay society. “Not having access to adequate professional psychiatric help and counselling is unjust to prisoners since Article 21 of the Constitution encompasses access to equitable healthcare for all,” he said.

Treating prisoners with dignity

Supreme Court counsel, advocate Floyd Gracias said emphasis on mental health has gained importance over the years and is the need of the hour. “Prisoners and undertrials are human and fall within the ambit of the Constitution (Articles 21 and 41). The inadequacy of mental health professionals for prisons is a serious cause of concern,” he said, adding that the state is obliged to provide for the health and well-being of all citizens.

Also read: Mental health needs immediate focus: Bombay Psychiatric Society

Getting professionals on board

Dr Harish Shetty, a consulting psychiatrist, said mental health professionals should be brought on board to work in prisons via private public partnerships. “Private hospitals need to increase the number of PG, DNB (Diplomate of National Board) and  MD seats in psychiatry and evolve a speciality in prison psychiatry to get more professionals to work in jails. Prison psychiatry needs to be developed as a specialist field by the state.”

Asked about the difficulties in getting the posts filled, Dr Shetty asserted that the monetary compensation is less, while prison psychiatry is not very glamorous and the number of available psychiatrists are far and few. “Let corporates use their CSR and other funds to hire psychiatrists in jails. If passport offices can have public private partnerships can’t this be done for mental health,” he said.

Prisoners: Right to life 

According to Constitutional expert, advocate Shreeprasad Parab, the Supreme Court (SC) has in many cases held that a person convicted and imprisoned does not lose fundamental rights and is not to be deprived of his life or personal liberty. In dealing with the mental health of prisoners, the SC opined that if the prisoner is subjected to mental torture, psychic pressure or physical infliction beyond the legitimate limits of lawful imprisonment, the prison authorities shall have to justify their action by producing legal sanction or be liable for the excesses. “Thus ignorance of mental illness is a violation of the basic rights of the prisoners as recognised by the Indian Constitution and is also an affront to human dignity,” he said. Attempts made to contact Amitabh Gupta, additional director general (Prisons), did not yield any results.  

44
No of sanctioned medical officers

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