Message from the President.

Abstract

Dear Members and Fellows of the Indian Psychiatric Society, Greetings to you from the Desk of the President! Indian Psychiatric Society has for many years been at the helm of publishing Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) in many important clinical disorders. This year sees another outstanding contribution from our CPG Committee on Forensic Psychiatry led by Prof. Shiv Gautam (Chairperson, CPG Committee), Prof. Jhanavi Kedare (Co-Chairperson, CPG Committee), Prof. Sandeep Grover (EC Coordinator, CPG Committee), and Dr. Siddharth Sarkar (Convener, CPG Committee). I am indebted to the team for their tremendous contribution and dedication. I extend my deepest gratitude to Prof. Ajit Avasthi for his selfless contribution to this Committee in the past and to Prof. O. P. Singh for his excellent leadership as the Editor of the Indian Journal of Psychiatry in bringing out the Supplement with the CPG. American Board of Forensic Psychiatry and the American Academy of Psychiatry and Law define Forensic Psychiatry as “a subspecialty of psychiatry in which scientific and clinical expertise is applied to legal issues in legal context, embracing civil, criminal, correctional, or legislative matters.” Forensic psychiatry is comparatively a new upcoming and developing field in India and should be practiced in accordance with guidelines and ethical principles enunciated by the profession of Psychiatry. The World Health Organization and the International Guiding Principles for Mental Health Care mandate that all human rights, including the right to privacy, informed consent, confidentiality, freedom from cruel and unusual treatment, and nondiscrimination, should be guaranteed through mental health legislation. It is important to remember the history of Forensic Psychiatry to fully appreciate why we need to immensely focus on this specialty. Law relating to custody of lunatics and management of their estates was introduced in India through three separate Acts: (1) the Lunacy (Supreme Court) Act, 1858 relating to judicial inquisition as to lunacy in presidency towns, (2) the Lunacy (District Courts) Act, 1858 relating to proceedings outside presidency towns, and (3) the Lunatic Asylum Act, 1858 relating to confinement of lunatics in asylums. The English Acts of 1853 after frequent amendments were replaced by the Lunacy Act, 1890 and amended by the Lunacy Act, 1891. The Indian Lunacy Bill, 1911 was enacted within 1 year as the Indian Lunacy Act, 1912 (Act IV of 1912), and much later, we had the Mental Health Act of 1987 and The Mental Health Care Act, 2017. Not all practicing Psychiatrists and Postgraduates (PGs) in Psychiatry have adequate practical knowledge of Forensic Psychiatry. Most private and government medical college psychiatry units do not have much exposure to Forensic Psychiatry, except a few. Hence, teaching and training in Forensic Psychiatry are not adequate for Psychiatry PGs throughout the country. Many practicing psychiatrists, especially youngsters, find it difficult to handle cases related to psychiatry and law. Today’s psychiatry is involved in very, many spheres of our day-to-day life and not only restricted to criminology. I am very confident that the CPG in Forensic Medicine will provide us with the necessary guidelines to provide our patients with evidence-based treatment while at the same time being sensitive and compassionate toward their issues. I congratulate and thank all members for their sterling contribution and request all members of our society to refer to the guidelines in their clinical practice. With best wishes to all!