De-addiction centres : HC tells Delhi govt to notify standards by Sep 19

New Delhi: The AAP government on Thursday told the Delhi High Court that the Lieutenant Governor (LG) has approved the rules for regulating the standards for de-addiction centres in the national capital and they would be notified soon.

The Delhi government also told a bench of justices S Muralidhar and Vinod Goel that once the rules are notified and publicised, then a mechanism will be laid down for such centres to apply for permission to function.

Taking note of the submission by Delhi government standing counsel (criminal) Rahul Mehra, the court directed that the standards be notified and uploaded online before September 19, the next date of hearing.

The bench also directed the Law Secretary of Delhi government to file an affidavit, before the next hearing, indicating that the order has been complied with.

The court on July 12 had asked the LG to finalise and approve the rules within four weeks, saying streamlining the facilities was of paramount importance as the people in need were fairly large in number.

According to a status report, filed by the Delhi government, also represented by advocate Chaitanya Gosain, the LG held a meeting with all the stakeholders, including the State Mental Health Authority (SMHA), before finalising and approving the rules.

The high court has been looking into the issue after a habeas corpus petition was filed by the father and brother of a man, who was allegedly illegally detained at a de-addiction centre in the city, where he was admitted by his wife and children on the pretext that he was an alcoholic.

The court had earlier said de-addiction centres should not be used to detain someone without his consent under the guise of rehabilitation.

The court had, in November 2017, ordered that such centres running illegally in the national capital be immediately shut down.

It had also noted that "unwanted elders are dumped" at places that operate in the guise of old-age homes.