SC notice to Centre on PIL to formulate policy for homeless with psychosocial disability

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought the Centre's response on a plea seeking directions to formulate and implement a policy for the homeless suffering from psychosocial disabilities. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta issued notices to the Centre and sought its reply on the PIL filed by advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal.

Psychosocial disabilities refers to the challenges people with mental health issues face due to discrimination, lack of support, among others.

Bansal in his plea has sought directions to frame and implement the standard operating procedures for key stakeholders, including departments of law enforcement (police department) and medical health, to ensure the humane and effective handling of homeless persons with psychosocial disabilities.

"The petitioner wishes to highlight the deeply entrenched structural deficiencies, where homeless individuals with psychosocial disability, instead of being provided with appropriate care, are often subjected to neglect, social isolation, and physical and sexual abuse," the plea said.

The petitioner went on, "Despite existing legal and policy frameworks, including the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 and National Mental Health Policy, 2014, respondents have failed to operationalise the provisions intended to protect and assist homeless individuals suffering from mental illness."

The plea said the lack of a structured national policy on homelessness and mental illness has resulted in a "complete breakdown of the system, leaving thousands of individuals to fend for themselves" without access to medical care, shelter, or social entitlements.

Referring to the findings of the National Mental Health Survey in 2015-2016, the PIL said it highlighted the state's failure to even quantify the number of homeless individuals suffering from mental illnesses.

"The lack of accurate data has perpetuated policy paralysis, making it impossible to implement targeted interventions or allocate necessary resources. The survey further reveals that dedicated rehabilitation facilities are either non-existent or severely inadequate, with most respondents confirming that there is no institutional support available at the district level for the long-term care of homeless mentally ill persons," the plea added.