Hyderabad: The Hyderabad High Court on Friday felt that there was a need to set up centres to provide shelter for mentally- challenged people who have been neglected by their families. A division bench comprising Justice C.V. Nagarjuna Reddy and Justice T. Rajani was dealing with a PIL taken up on letter by the member-secretary of AP Legal Services Authority, seeking to direct the governments of the two Telugu-speaking states to take steps to protect the rights of juvenile offenders, women prisoners and their children, mentally-challenged undertrials, convicts and people who suffer from mental disability but are not involved in any crime.
The bench felt that providing financial aid to such people was not sufficient; the governments have to take steps for their care. The bench said there was also a need conduct a survey in both states, on the lines of the Integrated Household Survey conducted by the TS government, to identify such neglected people. When S. Sharath Kumar, special counsel for TS, said that such a survey would put a financial burden on the state, the bench said the government shouldn’t care for the cost when taking measures for the welfare of such neglected people.
The bench granted four weeks to TS and AP to submit reports on the facilities provided to juvenile offenders, women prisoners and their children and mentally-challenged undertrials and convicts in the prisons of the two and to formulate terms and conditions to identify the mentally-challenged who are not involved any crimes.
