About the Book Mentally Ill undertrial Prisoners Under Indian Criminal Laws: Human Rights Perspective explores the plight of mentally ill undertrial prisoners in Indian legal scenario. This research deals with the extant regulatory framework, the perception and treatment meted out by the state instrumentalitics coupled with the role of the judiciary in justice delivery mechanism. A sincere attempt has been made to understand the efficacy of existing legal regime in dispensing justice to the mentally ill undertrial prisoners in reality and safeguarding their rights.
About the Author Dr. Anju Vali Tikoo is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi and has teaching experience of more than 27 yrs. She has taught Law of Crimes and Jurisprudence in National Law University Delhi and Faculty of Law, DU. Former Professor of Law,NLUD, her major areas of research interest are Criminal Laws, Criminology,Gender Justice and Public Health Laws. Her doctoral research on organ transplant law initiated her to adopt an interdisciplinary approach to understand the complexities of human nature and behaviour. She has been the visiting faculty in LNJN Institute of Criminology and Forensic Sciences, MHRD, New-Delhi, Delhi Judicial Academy, Bureau of Parliamentary Studies and Training and a resource person in TOT Programs having contributed thought provoking articles in journals of National repute.
Preface Mental illness is still perceived as an abnormality. It is considered as an aberration and to say the least potentially dangerous to the well being of the society. Mentally ill people are discriminated and disqualified as non-entities in the Indian society with reference to their socio-economic- political-legal rights.
Mental illness results in victimisation of the mentally ill person on two counts, Firstly the resultant disability to make informed choices and secondly the stigmatisation associated with it Mentally ill people are more prone to crime commission and falling prey to substance abuse, alcoholism and other illegal activities. This not only creates barriers but also hinders or impedes their growth, recovery and rehabilitation. Mental illness and disorders make the undertrials highly susceptible to abuse, discrimination and violation of their basic human rights. This invariably entails into a never ending viscious web of recurrent criminalisation. The inability of the mentally ill persons to protest their exploitation and violation of their fundamental human rights is a major cause for concern.
Introduction Intimidating wails of agony reverberating between walls as high as no human can climb, is what comes to mind when one thinks of a place called prison. The mere thought of spending a few days inside a prison sense shivers down any health spine. Imagine a person suffering from schizophrenia, a long- term mental disorder of a type involving a breakdown in the relation between thought, emotion, and behavior, leading to faulty perception, inappropriate actions and feelings, withdrawal from reality and personal relationships into fantasy and delusion, and a sense of mental fragmentation. For such a person, reality is not how it is for a normal mentally healthy person. The Mentally ill persons always require regular care and attention. Their livelihood is also adversely affected if proper care and nursing is not given to them. And if, in such hostile living conditions they end up committing a crime, they become a prisoner of the system as well.
Mentally ill persons are more frequently than others involved in crime due to symptoms like impaired judgment, lack of impulse control, suspiciousness, loss of inhibitions, paranoid ideas, inability to trust others, delusions, and hallucinations and most of them are less smart, so easily caught by police'.
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