The Mental Healthcare Bill, 2016 was passed in the year 2016 in the month of august in the Rajya Sabha. The bill, however, was introduced in 2013 in the Parliament and though it was passes in the upper house, a conformation from the lower house was pending.

The legislation related to mental health care has been transforming over a period. Initially, it was called the Indian lunacy act, 1912 and later was changed to Mental Health Act,1987. The major change was the change in use of word “mentally ill person” from “lunatic”. The term lunatic was defined as “an idiot or a person of unsound mind” and this was changed to “a person who is in need of treatment by reason of any mental disorder other than mental retardation”.

The preamble of this bill clearly states that, this legislation protects, promotes and fulfils the rights of such persons during delivery of MHC and services. The new bill has significant changes and developments. The bill focuses on right of the person with mental illness only when he is undergoing some treatment at the hospital. however, the priorities of the mental healthcare bill need to be shifted from only psychotic disorders to common mental disorders.

There are some positive developments in the bill, such as suicide under severe stress or attempted suicide is decriminalised through this new bill, etc. if a closer look is taken into the bill, it discloses several gaps that would make the provisions of the bill prone to misuse and to be executed.

Despite the gaps and limitations in the bill, it is believed that the bill will usher an era where life is ensured with dignity to the mentally ill persons. The success can be made more progressive if the bill is replaced with the Mental Health Act, 1987. However, the success of this depends upon the community to pressurise the legislature and the central and state authorities to implement the bill in spirit and letter.