Various commentaries have appeared in mainstream media hailing the passage of the Mental Health Care Bill (MHC) in the Rajya Sabha during its last session. Given the general lack of awareness on issues concerning mental health and psychosocial disabilities, this is welcome.
Many of these commentaries, however, were confined to just one aspect of the Bill ie, decriminalisation of suicide, an issue that has been in debate for quite some time. However, there are various other aspects of the Bill, some of which we shall try to look into here.