Mental Health Rights In India: A Psycho-Legal And Constitutional Analysis With Empirical Insights
- IJLLR Journal
- Aug 11
- 1 min read
Ruthresh Kumaran. M, B.E, MBA, LL.M, M.Sc Psychology, Department of International Law and Organisation, School of Excellence in Law, Tamilnadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University, Chennai.
ABSTRACT
Mental health is increasingly recognised as a constitutional and psycho- social concern in India. Judicial interpretations of Articles 14, 15, 19 and 21 affirm mental health as integral to the right to life and dignity, yet enforcement faces systemic challenges. This paper presents a dual inquiry: an empirical psycho-legal study of thirty postgraduate law students using the PHQ-9, the Beck Depression Inventory ('BDI') and the Big Five Personality Test, and a doctrinal analysis of the Indian constitutional and legislative mental health framework. The findings reveal considerable levels of depressive symptomatology among the sample, with descriptive associations to personality traits that merit institutional attention. Despite the Mental Healthcare Act 2017 codifying mental healthcare as a legal right, gaps in implementation, stigma and infrastructural limitations persist. By reading the empirical data alongside constitutional jurisprudence and recent University Grants Commission ('UGC') policy on student wellbeing, the paper argues for a rights-based institutional framework and identifies concrete legal levers, including section 115 of the Mental Healthcare Act 2017 and the UGC's 2022 to 2023 and 2026 provide collective guidelines capable of converting mental health rights from aspirational ideals into enforceable entitlements. Given the modest sample size, the empirical findings are presented as indicative rather than generalisable, and are offered to illustrate, not establish, the scale of the problem.
Keywords: Mental Health Rights; Psycho-Legal Study; Student Wellbeing; Mental Healthcare Act 2017; Higher Education; Depression and Anxiety among Students.
