High Court of DelhiW.P.(C)/6952/2019

Amit Sahni v. Govt Of NCT Delhi And ORS.

2024-12-12Hon'Ble The Acting Chief Justice,Hon'Ble Mr. Justice Tushar Rao Gedela4 pages

$~17&18 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI + W.P.(C) 6952/2019 AMIT SAHNI .....Petitioner Through:

Mr. Ankur, Mr. Parth Sharma & Mr.

Vaibhav Mishra, Advs.

Versus

GOVT OF NCT DELHI AND ORS.

.....Respondents Through:

Mr. Tushar Sannu & Mr. Shivraj Singh Tomar, Advs. for R-1.

Ms. Avnish Ahlawat, Mr. Nitesh Kumar Singh, Ms. Laavanya Kaushik, Ms. Aliza Alam & Mr. Mohnish Sehrawat, Advs. for R-1.

Mr. Sumer Kumar Sethi & Ms. D.

Sharma, Adv. for R-3.

AND + W.P.(C) 4468/2021 CM APPL. 52131/2024 SHREYUS SUKHIJA .....Petitioner Through:

Mr. Mihir Samson, Ms. Vaishnavi Prasad & Mr. Pradip Kumar Singh, Advs.

Versus

GOVERNMENT OF NCT OF DELHI AND ORS .....Respondents Through:

Ms. Avnish Ahlawat, Mr. Nitesh Kumar Singh, Ms. Laavanya Kaushik, Ms. Aliza Alam & Mr. Mohnish Sehrawat, Advs. for R-1.

CORAM:

HON'BLE THE ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE TUSHAR RAO GEDELA

O R D E R

% 12.12.2024 1.

The petitioners have filed the present petitions, inter alia, praying that directions be issued to respondent no.1/Government of NCT of Delhi (hereafter the GNCTD) to constitute the State Mental Health Authority (hereafter the SMHA) as well as the District Mental Health Review Boards (hereafter the Review Boards) and for implementing the provisions of the The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above.

Mental Health Care Act, 2017 (hereafter the Act). 2.

The learned counsel appearing for the GNCTD has handed over a Notification dated 27.11.2024 (hereafter the notification) whereby the GNCTD has appointed seven Ex-officio members for constituting the Delhi Mental Health Authority. The said notification is set out below: "DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE NOTIFICATION Delhi, the 27th November, 2024 F.No.1(12)/SMHA/Court/2021/000711489- "In exercise of the powers conferred under Section 45 and 52 of the Mental Health Care Act, 2017 read with sub-section (a) of section 45D of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991 read with S.O. No.3753(E) dated 02.09.2024 issued by Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs and in supersession of all previous notifications issued in this regard, the Lt. Governor of National Capital Territory of Delhi is pleased to constitute the following Delhi Mental Health Authority, namely:- Sl.

No.

NAME/DESIGNATION OF MEMBER DESIGNATION IN DMHA Principal Secretary or Secretary, H&FW Department, GNCTD (Section 46(1)(a) of MHA 2017) Chairman Exofficio Joint Secretary / Special Secretary, H&FW, GNCTD (Section 46(1)(b) of MHA 2017) Member Ex-officio Director General of Health Services, GNCTD (Section 46(1)(c) of MHA 2017) Member Ex-officio Joint Secretary, Social Welfare Department, GNCTD (Section 46(1)(d) of MHA 2017) Member Ex-officio Joint Secretary, Home Department, GNCTD (Section 46(1)(e) of MHA 2017) Member Ex-officio Joint Secretary, Finance Department, Member Ex-officio The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above.

GNCTD (Section 46(1)(e) of MHA 2017) Joint Secretary, Law Department, GNCTD Member Ex-officio Note: The non-official members of the State Mental Health Authority would be selected / appointed in due course of time as per guidelines laid down in the Mental Health Care Act, 2017 and the Mental Health Care (SMHA) Rules, 2018 issued by GOI. By Order and in the Name of the Lt. Governor Of National Capital Territory of Delhi DEVENDRA KUMAR UPADHYAY, Dy. Secy."

It is relevant to take note of the notation at the end of the aforementioned notification which states that the non-official members of the SMHA would be selected on being appointed in due course of time as per the provisions of the Act and the Mental Health Care Rules, 2017 (hereafter the Rules).

The learned counsel appearing for the GNCTD submits that the advertisement for appointment of the non-official members of the SMHA as referred to under Section 46(1) of the Act and the Rules would be issued within next few weeks.

Insofar as the appointment of the Review Boards is concerned, Chapter-XI of the Act contain provisions, inter alia, regarding Constitution and Composition of the Review Boards. In terms of Section 73(1) of the Act, the State Authority is required to constitute the Review Boards by a notification. The composition of the said Board is spelt out under Section 74 of the Act. Therefore, the said exercise for constituting the Review Boards is required to be conducted only after the Delhi Mental Health Authority is fully constituted.

The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above.

In view of the above, we consider it apposite to dispose of the present petitions by directing the GNCTD to take expeditious steps for filling up the posts of non-official members of the Delhi Mental Health Authority with a further direction that the said Authority, as and when constituted, would take expeditious steps for constitution of the Review Boards in accordance with Sections 73 and 74 of the Act.

We further direct that the process of constituting the Delhi Mental Health Authority and the Review Boards shall not be impeded by imposition of Model Code of Conduct in view of ensuing elections for the Delhi State Legislative Assembly. We also grant liberty to the petitioners to revive the present petitions if the Delhi Mental Health Authority fails to comply with the aforesaid directions within the reasonable period of time. 8.

The petitions are disposed of in the aforesaid terms. VIBHU BAKHRU, ACJ TUSHAR RAO GEDELA, J DECEMBER 12, 2024 'gsr'

Click here to check corrigendum, if any The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above.