New Delhi, Sep 21: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea which sought directions to ensure the prevention of attempts to commit suicide by persons throwing themselves into animal enclosures in zoos.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Augustine George Masih and Sandeep Mehta passed the order while hearing a plea challenging a July 2020 order of the Delhi High Court.
The high court had declined to entertain the plea alleging inaction by the Centre and the concerned authorities regarding repeated instances of people jumping into animal enclosures in various zoos across the country.
The high court had, however, permitted the petitioner to prefer a representation before the concerned authorities.
In September 2020, the apex court had agreed to hear the matter and asked the Centre to justify the validity of a provision of the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, which “virtually negates” the IPC provision that made attempt to commit suicide a punishable offence.
During the hearing on Monday, the apex court observed that requisite safeguards were already there.
“Everyone is supposed to act as per the law,” the bench observed, while dismissing the plea.
The plea had sought directions to the Centre, the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) and others to ensure prevention of attempts to commit suicide by persons by throwing themselves in the animal enclosures in zoos.
While hearing the matter in September 2020, the top court had noted that the act of attempt to commit suicide was an offence punishable under Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
It had referred to the dichotomy between a provision of the mental healthcare law and the IPC, and said while the older one makes attempt to commit suicide a punishable offence, the subsequent law presumes severe stress as the origin of such act.
The top court had said that Section 115 of the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, which creates a presumption, has an impact on Section 309 of the IPC.
Section 115 of the 2017 Act provides for a presumption of severe stress in case of an attempt to commit suicide, unless proved otherwise, and a person shall not be tried or punished under the IPC.
The provision further provides that “the appropriate government shall have a duty to provide care, treatment and rehabilitation to a person having severe stress, and who attempted to commit suicide, to reduce the risk of recurrence of attempt to commit suicide”.
The plea had cited various instances of people jumping into the enclosures of tiger or lion in various zoos across the country, leading to those individuals getting mauled to death.
It had alleged that zoo authorities were not ensuring that such incidents did not happen.
