On this page8 sections
Your key rights under the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017
Access to care
The right to access mental health care and treatment from services run or funded by the government, of good quality and without discrimination.
Confidentiality
The right to confidentiality about your mental health, treatment and records. Information can be released only in limited situations set out in the law.
Dignity and protection
The right to live with dignity and to be protected from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in any mental health establishment.
Information
The right to know about your diagnosis, proposed treatment and possible side effects, in a language you understand.
Equality
The right to be treated as equal to people with physical illness — including in health insurance.
Advance directive and nominee
You can write down how you wish (and do not wish) to be treated if you become unwell, and nominate a representative to support decisions.
Is psychiatric treatment confidential?
Yes. What you discuss with your psychiatrist and your medical records are confidential. They are not shared with your employer, school, college, relatives or anyone else without your consent. The law allows limited exceptions — for example, sharing information with those involved in your care, or when there is a serious risk to your safety or someone else’s.
The Act also restricts publishing photographs or information about a person receiving mental health care without their consent.
Does health insurance cover psychiatric treatment?
Section 21(4) of the Mental Healthcare Act requires every insurer to provide medical insurance for the treatment of mental illness on the same basis as for physical illness, and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has directed insurers to comply.
Suicide attempts: care, not punishment
Under Section 115 of the Mental Healthcare Act, a person who attempts suicide is presumed to be under severe stress and is not to be tried or punished; the government has a duty to provide care and rehabilitation. India’s new criminal code, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (in force since July 2024), does not carry over the old IPC Section 309 offence of attempting suicide.
Admission to hospital
- Independent admission — most people who need hospital care choose it themselves and can ask to leave.
- Supported admission — in specific circumstances, when a person with severe mental illness is at risk and unable to make treatment decisions, the law allows admission without full consent, with strict safeguards, time limits and review.
- Prohibited practices — the Act bans chaining and certain procedures, such as ECT without anaesthesia and muscle relaxants.
Common worries
Myth
Seeing a psychiatrist will go on a public record and affect my job or marriage.
Fact
There is no public register of psychiatric patients. Your consultation is confidential and shared only with your consent or where the law allows for safety.
Myth
Insurance never pays for mental illness.
Fact
The law requires insurers to cover mental illness on par with physical illness. What is covered (for example, OPD or only hospitalisation) depends on your policy.
In Gujarati & Hindi
In Gujaratiગુજરાતીમાં
ભારતમાં માનસિક આરોગ્ય અંગેના તમારા અધિકારો
મેન્ટલ હેલ્થકેર એક્ટ, 2017 મુજબ દરેક વ્યક્તિને માનસિક આરોગ્ય સારવાર મેળવવાનો, ગોપનીયતાનો અને ગૌરવપૂર્ણ વર્તનનો અધિકાર છે. વીમા કંપનીઓએ માનસિક બીમારીને શારીરિક બીમારી જેટલું જ કવર આપવું જરૂરી છે. તમારી સારવારની માહિતી તમારી મંજૂરી વિના નોકરીદાતા કે અન્ય કોઈને આપવામાં આવતી નથી.
- સારવાર અને રેકોર્ડ ગોપનીય રહે છે
- હેલ્થ ઇન્શ્યોરન્સમાં માનસિક બીમારીનું કવર
- આત્મહત્યાનો પ્રયાસ — સજા નહીં, સારવાર
- મદદ માટે Tele-MANAS: 14416
ગુજરાતીમાં પરામર્શ માટે કૉલ કરો: +91 78610 24557
In Hindiहिंदी में
भारत में मानसिक स्वास्थ्य से जुड़े आपके अधिकार
मेंटल हेल्थकेयर एक्ट, 2017 के अनुसार हर व्यक्ति को मानसिक स्वास्थ्य इलाज पाने, गोपनीयता और सम्मानजनक व्यवहार का अधिकार है। बीमा कंपनियों को मानसिक बीमारी को शारीरिक बीमारी के बराबर कवर देना ज़रूरी है। आपके इलाज की जानकारी आपकी अनुमति के बिना नियोक्ता या किसी और को नहीं दी जाती।
- इलाज और रिकॉर्ड गोपनीय रहते हैं
- हेल्थ इंश्योरेंस में मानसिक बीमारी का कवर
- आत्महत्या का प्रयास — सज़ा नहीं, इलाज
- मदद के लिए Tele-MANAS: 14416
हिंदी में परामर्श के लिए कॉल करें: +91 78610 24557
Consultations are available in English, Hindi and Gujarati.
Frequently asked questions
Is psychiatric treatment confidential in India?
Yes. The Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 gives every person receiving mental health care the right to confidentiality. Your information is shared only with your consent or in limited situations allowed by law, such as preventing serious harm.
Does health insurance cover psychiatric treatment in India?
The law requires insurers to cover mental illness on the same basis as physical illness, and IRDAI has directed insurers to comply. Whether outpatient consultations and medicines are covered depends on your specific policy, so check its OPD terms.
Is attempting suicide a crime in India?
Under the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, a person who attempts suicide is presumed to be under severe stress and should receive care rather than punishment, and the general IPC offence of attempting suicide was not carried into the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. If you are struggling, please call Tele-MANAS on 14416.
Can someone be admitted to a psychiatric hospital against their will?
Only in specific circumstances defined by the Mental Healthcare Act — when a person with severe mental illness is at significant risk and cannot make treatment decisions — and with safeguards, time limits and independent review.
What is an advance directive?
It is a written statement, made while you are well, about how you want to be cared for — and not cared for — if you become unwell in future, and who you want as your nominated representative.