The Bombay High Court on Friday directed the Maharashtra government to submit an affidavit detailing measures to safeguard the mental health of prisoners, enabling the court to establish appropriate guidelines.

A division bench comprising Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Prithviraj Chavan emphasized the serious concern regarding prisoner suicides, underscoring the necessity for the State to prevent the deterioration of inmates' mental health while they are incarcerated.

"You need to take care of the mental health of the prisoners. You should also look into how other countries are taking care of the mental health of prisoners. We are saying so because we are concerned with the larger issue involved in this matter. We grant you four weeks time to file an affidavit and place on record some material that you think is sufficient so that we can consider issuing guidelines to ensure the mental health of prisoners" the bench told Additional Public Prosecutor Prajakta Shinde.

The bench also sought to know from Shinde, the procedure to treat prisoners with mental health issues, followed by the prison authorities and if a psychiatrist is made available for treating such prisoners.

The Court was hearing a plea filed by Lata Babulal Shinde, mother of Jitendra Shinde, a death row convict in the infamous 2016 Kopardi gang rape case, who committed suicide in his barrack at Yerwada Central Jail. The plea, filed through advocate Vijay Hiremath, asserts that the petitioner's son was suffering from mental health issues and that the prison authorities failed to provide the mandated care as required by various Acts.

The petitioner contends that the State, through the prison administration, is obligated to act as parens patriae for incarcerated prisoners and provide treatment for those with mental health issues. However, this obligation is not being fulfilled.

The petitioner had in January 2024, submitted a compilation of documents containing;

• The extract from the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017;
• The Mental Healthcare (Rights of Persons with Mental Illnesses Rules) 2018;
• National Institute of Mental Health And Neurosciences (NIMHANS) Report dealing with Mental Health Crisis in Prisoners during Covid-19;
• National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Suicide in Prison:Prevention Strategy and Implication From Human Rights and Legal Points of View, 2014;
• NHRC Guidelnes on Prevenion of Suicide in Prison;
• Extract from Model Prison Act, 2023;
• Extract from Model Prison Manual, 2016;
• The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules)

The bench has granted the government four weeks to respond to the plea.