Ms. Abantee Dutta, v. The State of Assam and 9 Ors

PageoNo.#o1/3 GAHC010178642023 ooooooo ooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooTHEoGAUHATIoHIGHoCOURTo (HIGHoCOURToOFoASSAM,oNAGALAND,oMIZORAMoANDoARUNACHALoPRADESH)o CaseoNo.o:oI.A.(Civil)/2366/2023o MS.oABANTEEoDUTTA,o CO-FOUNDERoANDoDIRECTOR,oSTUDIOoNILIMAoCOLLABORATIVEo NETWORKoFORoRESEARCHoANDoCAPACITYoBUILDING,oAoNON-PROFITo RESEARCHoBASEDoORGANISATIONoHAVINGoITSoREGISTEREDoOFFICERo AT. VERSUSo THEoSTATEoOFoASSAMoando9oORS.o REP.oBYoTHEoCHIEFoSECRETARYoTOoTHEoGOVT.oOFoASSAM,oDISPUR,o GUWAHATIo-6,oDIST.oKAMRUPoM,oASSAM 2:THEoSECRETARYoTOoTHEoGOVT.oOFoASSAM oHOMEoANDoPOLITICALoDEPARTMENT oGOVT.oOFoASSAM oDISPUR oGUWAHATIo-o781006. 3:THEoSECRETARYoTOoTHEoGOVT.oOFoASSAM oDEPARTMENToOFoHEALTHoandoFAMILYoWELFARE oGOVT.oOFoASSAM oDISPURoGUWAAHTI-781006. 4:THEoINSPECTORoGENERALoOFoPRISONS oASSAMoPRISONoHEADQUARTERS oKHANAPARAoGUWAHATIo-o781022. 5:THEoDEPUTYoCOMMISSIONER oMORIGAON oINoTHEoDIST.oOFoMORIGAONoASSAM 6:SUPERINTENDENT oMORIGAONoDISTRICToJAIL Page No.# 2/3 DIST. MORIGAON ASSAM 7:RESIDENT MEDICAL OFFICER MORIGAON DISTRICT JAIL DIST. MORIGAON ASSAM 8:LOKOPRIYA GOPINATH BORDOLOI REGIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH KALIBARI ROAD MAHABHAIRAB TEZPUR ASSAM - 784001 DIRECTOR. 9:STATE LEGAL SERVICES AUTHORITY REP. BY ITS MEMBER SECRETARY GAUHATI HIGH COURT GAUHATI-781001. 10:THE DISTRICT LEGAL SERVICES AUTHORITY MORIGAON REP. BY ITS MEMBER SECRETARY STADIUM ROAD MORIGAON PIN - 782105 MORIGAON ASSAM For the applicant : Mr. V. Rajkhowa, Advocate For the respondents : Mr. D. Saikia, Advocate General, Assam Ms. R. Barua, Advocate

– B E F O R E – HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. VIJAY BISHNOI HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SUMAN SHYAM 29-05-2024 (Vijay Bishnoi, C.J.) This interlocutory application is preferred by the petitioner in PIL 55/2017, which was disposed of by this Court vide order dated 13.12.2022. In the present application, it is mentioned that despite the specific direction given by this Court, the Mental Health Review Boards and Committees either have not been Page No.# 3/3 constituted and, if constituted, the same are not functioning effectively. Pursuant to the issuance of the notice in the interlocutory application, the State has filed its response wherein it is asserted that the Mental Health Review Boards and Committees are now functional. However, a mention is made that required funds are not still made available for effective function of the said boards and committees. Mr. D. Saikia, learned Advocate General has submitted that so far as availability of funds is concerned, the State Government is concerned about it and will make the funds available for effective functioning of the above referred Boards and Committees on the basis of their need as and when required. In view of the assurance given by learned Advocate General that the funds will be made available for effective functioning of the Mental Health Review Boards and Committees on need basis, we are of the view that no further order is required to be passed in the present application and the same is, therefore, disposed of.

JUDGE CHIEF JUSTICE Comparing Assistant