5. Establishment or maintenance of psychiatric hospitals and psychiatric nursing homes.—(1)
The Central Government may, in any part of India, or the State Government may, within the limits of its
jurisdiction, establish or maintain psychiatric hospitals or psychiatric nursing homes for the admission,
treatment and care of mentally ill persons at such places as it thinks fit; and separate psychiatric hospitals
and psychiatric nursing homes may be established or maintained for,—
(a) those who are under the age of sixteen years;
(b) those who are addicted to alcohol or other drugs which lead to behavioural changes in a
person;
(c) those who have been convicted of any offence; and
(d) those belonging to such other class or category of persons as may be prescribed.
(2) Where a psychiatric hospital or psychiatric nursing home is established or maintained by the
Central Government, any reference in this Act to the State Government shall, in relation to such hospital
or nursing home, be constructed as a reference to the Central Government.
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6. Establishment or maintenance of psychiatric hospitals or psychiatric nursing homes only
with licence.—(1) On and after the commencement of this Act, no person shall establish or maintain a
psychiatric hospital or psychiatric nursing home unless he holds a valid licence granted to him under
this Act:
Provided that a psychiatric hospital or psychiatric nursing home (whether called asylum or by any
other name) licenced by the Central Government or any State Government and maintained as such
immediately before the commencement of this Act may continue to be maintained, and shall be deemed
to be a licenced psychiatric hospital or licenced psychiatric nursing home, as the case may be, under
this Act,—
(a) for a period of three months from such commencement, or
(b) if an application made in accordance with section 7 for a licence is pending on the expiry of
the period specified in clause (a), till the disposal of such application.
(2) Nothing contained in sub-section (1) shall apply to a psychiatric hospital or psychiatric nursing
home established or maintained by the Central Government or a State Government.
7. Application for licence.—(1) Every person, who holds, at the commencement of this Act, a valid
licence authorising that person to establish or maintain any psychiatric hospital or psychiatric nursing
home, shall, if the said person intends to establish or continue the maintenance of such hospital or nursing
home after the expiry of the period referred to in clause (a) of the proviso to sub-section (1) of section 6,
make, at least one month before the expiry of such period, an application to the licensing authority for the
grant of a fresh licence for the establishment or maintenance of such hospital or nursing home, as the case
may be.
(2) A person, who intends to establish or maintain, after the commencement of this Act, a psychiatric
hospital or psychiatric nursing home, shall, unless the said person already holds a valid licence, make an
application to the licensing authority for the grant of a licence.
(3) Every application under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) shall be in such form and be
accompanied by such fee as may be prescribed.
8. Grant or refusal of licence.—On receipt of an application under section 7, the licensing authority
shall make such inquiries as it may deem fit and where it is satisfied that—
(a) the establishment or maintenance of the psychiatric hospital or psychiatric nursing home or
the continuance of the maintenance of any such hospital or nursing home established before
the commencement of this Act is necessary;
(b) the applicant is in a position to provide the minimum facilities prescribed for the admission,
treatment and care of mentally ill persons; and
(c) the psychiatric hospital or psychiatric nursing home, will be under the charge of a medical
officer who is a psychiatrist, it shall grant a licence to the applicant in the prescribed form, and where
it is not so satisfied, the licensing authority shall, by order, refuse to grant the licence applied for:
Provided that, before making any order refusing to grant a licence, the licensing authority shall
give to the applicant a reasonable opportunity of being heard and every order of refusal to grant a
licence shall set out therein the reasons for such refusal and such reasons shall be communicated to
the applicant in such manner as may be prescribed.
9. Duration and renewal of licence.—(1) A licence shall not be transferable or heritable.
(2) Where a licensee is unable to function as such for any reason or where a licensee dies, the licensee
or, as the case may be, the legal representative of such licensee shall forthwith report the matter in the
prescribed manner to the licensing authority and notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1),
the psychiatric hospital or psychiatric nursing home concerned may continue to be maintained and shall
be deemed to be a licensed psychiatric hospital or licensed psychiatric nursing home, as the case may
be,—
(a) for a period of three months from the date of such report or in the case of the death of the
licensee from the date of his death, or
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(b) if an application made in accordance with sub-section (3) for a licence is pending on the
expiry of the period specified in clause (a), till the disposal of such application.
(3) The legal representative of the licensee referred to in sub-section (2), shall, if he intends to
continue the maintenance of the psychiatric hospital or psychiatric nursing home after the expiry of the
period referred to in sub-section (2), make, at least one month before the expiry of such period, an
application to the licensing authority for the grant of a fresh licence for the maintenance of such hospital
or nursing home, as the case may be, and the provisions of section 8 shall apply in relation to such
application as they apply in relation to an application made under section 7.
(4) Every licence shall, unless revoked earlier under section 11, be valid for a period of five years
from the date on which it is granted.
(5) A licence may be renewed, from time to time, on an application made in that behalf to the
licensing authority, in such form and accompanied by such fee, as may be prescribed, and every such
application shall be made not less than one year before the date on which the period of validity of the
licence is due to expire:
Provided that the renewal of a licence shall not be refused unless the licensing authority is satisfied
that—
(i) the licensee is not in a position to provide in a psychiatric hospital or psychiatric nursing
home, the minimum facilities prescribed for the admission, treatment and care therein of mentally ill
persons; or
(ii) the licensee is not in a position to provide a medical officer who is a psychiatrist to take
charge of the psychiatric hospital or psychiatric nursing home; or
(iii) the licensee has contravened any of the provisions of this Act or any rule made thereunder.
10. Psychiatric hospital and psychiatric nursing home to be maintained in accordance with
prescribed conditions.—Every psychiatric hospital or psychiatric nursing home shall be maintained in
such manner and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed.
11. Revocation of licence.—(1) The licensing authority may, without prejudice to any other penalty
that may be imposed on the licensee, by order in writing, revoke the licence if it is satisfied that—
(a) the psychiatric hospital or psychiatric nursing home is not being maintained by the licensee in
accordance with the provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder; or
(b) the maintenance of the psychiatric hospital or psychiatric nursing home is being carried on in
a manner detrimental to the moral, mental or physical well-being of the inpatients thereof:
Provided that no such order shall be made except after giving the licensee a reasonable opportunity of
being heard, and every such order shall set out therein the grounds for the revocation of the licence and
such grounds shall be communicated to the licensee in such manner as may be prescribed.
(2) Every order made under sub-section (1) shall contain a direction that the inpatients of the
psychiatric hospital or psychiatric nursing home shall be transferred to such other psychiatric hospital or
psychiatric nursing home as may be specified in that order and it shall also contain such provisions
(including provisions by way of directions) as to the care and custody of such inpatients pending such
transfer.
(3) Every order made under sub-section (1) shall take effect,—
(a) where no appeal has been preferred against such order under section 12, immediately on the
expiry of the period prescribed for such appeal; and
(b) where such appeal has been preferred and the same has been dismissed, from the date of the
order of such dismissal.
12. Appeal.—(1) Any person, aggrieved by an order of the licensing authority refusing to grant or
renew a licence, or revoking a licence, may, in such manner and within such period as may be prescribed,
prefer an appeal to the State Government:
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Provided that the State Government may entertain an appeal preferred after the expiry of the
prescribed period if it is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from preferring the
appeal in time.
(2) Every appeal under sub-section (1) shall be made in such form and be, accompanied by such fee
as may be prescribed.
13. Inspection of psychiatric hospitals and psychiatric nursing homes and visiting of patients.—
(1) An Inspecting Officer may, at any time, enter and inspect any psychiatric hospital or psychiatric
nursing home and require the production of any records, which are required to be kept in accordance with
the rules made in this behalf, for inspection:
Provided that any personal records of a patient so inspected shall be kept confidential except for the
purposes of sub-section (3).
(2) The Inspecting Officer may interview in private any patient receiving treatment and care therein—
(a) for the purpose of inquiring into any complaint made by or on behalf of such patient as to the
treatment and care, or
(b) in any case, where the Inspecting Officer has reason to believe that any inpatient is not
receiving proper treatment and care.
(3) Where the Inspecting Officer is satisfied that any inpatient in a psychiatric hospital or psychiatric
nursing home is not receiving proper treatment and care, he may report the matter to the licensing
authority and thereupon the licensing authority may issue such direction as it may deem fit to the medical
officer in charge or the licensee of the psychiatric hospital, or, as the case may be, the psychiatric nursing
home and every such medical officer in charge or licensee shall be bound to comply with such directions.
14. Treatment of outpatients.—Provision shall be made in every psychiatric hospital or psychiatric
nursing home for such facilities as may be prescribed for the treatment of every mentally ill person,
whose condition does not warrant his admission as an inpatient or who, for the time being, is not
undergoing treatment as inpatient.