The Mental Healthcare Act, 2017
Section 4. Capacity to make mental healthcare and treatment decisions.
(1) Every person, including a person with mental illness shall be deemed to have capacity to make decisions regarding his mental healthcare or treatment if such person has ability to—
(a) understand the information that is relevant to take a decision on the treatment or admission or personal assistance; or
(b) appreciate any reasonably foreseeable consequence of a decision or lack of decision on the treatment or admission or personal assistance; or
(c) communicate the decision under sub-clause (a) by means of speech, expression, gesture or any other means.
(2) The information referred to in sub-section (1) shall be given to a person using simple language, which such person understands or in sign language or visual aids or any other means to enable him to understand the information.
(3) Where a person makes a decision regarding his mental healthcare or treatment which is perceived by others as inappropriate or wrong, that by itself, shall not mean that the person does not have the capacity to make mental healthcare or treatment decision, so long as the person has the capacity to make mental healthcare or treatment decision under sub-section (1).
Source: IndiaCode Portal, Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India. Open on India Code Check against the official text before relying on it.
Cases citing this section
No order or office report we hold cites this section yet.
Source: Order and office-report PDFs whose text cites the section, read by rule (document_citations); each case through its orders and office reports that carry the PDF