Mumbai: The Bombay high court has directed a man to “remain present” at the Thane Mental Hospital for the discharge of his wife, whom he admitted earlier this month.
The direction was passed by a vacation bench of Justices Nitin Borkar and Somasekhar Sunderesan while hearing a habeas corpus (produce person in court) petition filed by the woman’s sister alleging that she is “illegally detained” at the hospital.
The sister’s plea contended that the woman was “perfectly fine” when she visited her and father on May 5 in Mahim and “left happily to return to her residence”. She received a call from her brother-in-law, the woman’s husband, on May 9, informing that she has been admitted to the hospital in Thane.
She and the father tried to meet her the following day, but were not allowed by the hospital stating that as per their policy, no one can meet the patient for a couple of days after their admission. The plea claimed that they met the police at Thane and Mahim police stations, but they did not receive any help.
Finally, she managed to meet the woman on May 15, and was “shocked and surprised by her condition”. On inquiry, the woman told her that her husband brought her to the hospital under the pretext that they were going to get a CT scan for their 13-year-old son, who is a special child. Instead he admitted her to the hospital and told doctors that she had mental issues.
The two married in 2009. Initially, things were cordial, however, later the husband allegedly started harassing her. The plea contended that the woman had filed a complaint with the police in October 2022 against her husband and in-laws.
Sister’s advocate Deepa Mani submitted that they received a letter stating that the woman is fit to be discharged. The sister was willing to take care of her. State advocate Prajakta Shinde informed the bench the hospital would discharge the patient only in the presence of the person who had admitted the patient.
The vacation bench then asked the husband and sister to remain present at the hospital to facilitate her discharge, subject to the doctor's approval. “It’s tragic if the person is healed and cannot be discharged because the man, who admitted her, is not present,” Justice Somasekhar said.
The court has also asked the local police personnel to remain present “to smoothen the interface with the hospital and oversee the review of a potential discharge of the said patient”. The hospital authorities shall apprise the sister and the husband about the “current health conditions” of the woman and hand over appropriate medical instructions in a discharge summary to be formulated under the hospital protocol, the bench said. The HC has allowed the sister to take her to her residence for further care of the patient.
