MENTALLY ILL PERSONS AND THEIR RIGHTS OF PROPERTY: AN EVALUATION OF INDIAN LAWS

ANJALI DIXIT,

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, FACULTY OF JURIDICAL SCIENCES, RAMA UNIVERSITY, KANPUR

Best Citation – ANJALI DIXIT, MENTALLY ILL PERSONS AND THEIR RIGHTS OF PROPERTY: AN EVALUATION OF INDIAN LAWS, 2 ILEMJ 8, 2022

ABSTRACT

Discrimination against people with mental illness is rife across the Universe. Among different types of discrimination is the policy in many countries where persons with mental illness are forbidden to inherit property, and they are not able to enter into a contract in a large number of countries. Using various databases, legislations dealing with law of contract, law of succession/inheritance, and law relating to testamentary capacity (wills) of all UN Member states (193 countries) were studied. In spite of international laws in many countries, laws remain discriminatory and fail to protect the rights of the mentally ill person specially property right. A substantial growth in the numbers of the mentally ill revealed an absence of effective and accessible legal protection for the property of patients with small estates.

Keywords: Mental illness, Mechanism, Protection of rights, Right to Property