Mentally ill people in hospitals, shelters are traceable, why do they need IDs for testing, asks Delhi HC

The Delhi high court on Thursday sought to know from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Delhi government why homeless mentally ill people needed

The Delhi high court on Thursday sought to know from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Delhi government why homeless mentally ill people needed to submit an identity proof in order to get tested for Covid-19 in the national capital.

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The court asked why there was a need for homeless mentally ill people to produce identity papers and valid phone number when many of them were institutionalised or in shelter homes and therefore, traceable. The court was hearing a PIL by advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal seeking directions to the ICMR and the Delhi government to suitably modify guidelines for Covid-19 testing of mentally ill homeless persons in Delhi.

A bench of chief justice DN Patel and justice Prateek Jalan said such people (mentally ill who are institutionalised) should not be left out of the testing ambit and they, along with the mentally ill homeless persons on the streets, should be looked after.

The court asked the additional solicitor general (ASG) Chetan Sharma, appearing for ICMR, the apex research body in the country, to consult its officials on what can be done to address this issue.

“Once addressed, the same should also be communicated to all hospitals,” the bench said and gave the ICMR time till July 24 to find a solution and inform the court.

The order came after the Institute for Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS), represented by advocate Tushar Sannu, told the court there were two hurdles in testing mentally ill persons admitted at IHBAS. Sannu said that according to the ICMR advisory of June 19, every person who is to be tested for Covid-19 has to provide a government issued identity proof and should have a valid phone number for tracing and tracking the individual and his/her contacts.

He said a majority of mentally ill persons would not be able to satisfy either of these conditions and therefore, they cannot be tested for Covid-19. IHBAS suggested that the ICMR guidelines be suitably modified to address the hardship faced by mentally ill homeless persons.

In its response to the plea, ICMR has said in its advisory, dated June 23, point of care diagnostic assay in combination with gold standard RT/PCR test is recommended for persons with neurological disorders, whether hospitalised, seeking hospitalisation or residing in hot spot areas.

Delhi government, in its affidavit, said it was adhering to the ICMR advisory of June 19 which mandates that all patients being tested by any method must furnish a government-issued photo identity proof and a mobile phone number.

It also said that “in the absence of any specific guidelines or rules for testing of homeless mentally ill or suspected mentally ill persons, the Delhi government was trying its best to do all that is necessary for such persons” .