New Delhi: TheSupreme Courton Tuesday directed theNational Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to monitor the implementation ofthe Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, ensuring the safeguarding of the rights and needs of persons with mental illnesses. A bench comprising Justices P S Narasimha and R Mahadevan observed that the NHRC should monitor the petition filed by advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal in 2018. According to a recent PTI report, the top court took on record an affidavit filed by the Centre and noted that statutory authorities have been constituted to implement the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017. Also Read:SC directs states, UTs to report implementation of mental health guidelines in institutes It, however, noted that the petitioner has sought several other "prayers". These shall also be monitored by theNHRC. The top court had previously said that Parliament enacted the Mental Healthcare Act in 2017, which contemplates the establishment of a Central Mental Health Authority (CMHA), StateMental HealthAuthority (SMHA) andMental HealthReview Board (MHRB). Earlier, on March 2, the Supreme Court had directed the Centre to file an affidavit indicating the establishment and functioning of these bodies. The affidavit should also show the statutory and mandatory appointments to the authority and the review board. On January 3, 2019, the apex court issued notices to the Centre, all states and Union Territories on the petition, which claimed that non-implementation of provisions of the Act by the states and UTs was a gross violation of life and liberty of the citizens. The PIL argued that persons with mental illnesses were chained in a faith-based mental asylum in the Budaun district of Uttar Pradesh in violation of provisions of theMental HealthCare Act 2017. The court examined the photos of such patients, calling it a matter of great concern. The bench emphasized that chaining people with mental illness was violative of their rights under Article 21 of the Constitution, which deals with life and personal liberty, and their dignity cannot be compromised. According to the PIL, chaining a person suffering from mental illness is a blatant violation of a provision of the 2017 Act, which says that every such person shall not only have a right to live with dignity but he or she shall be protected from cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, reports PTI. Referring to the National Mental Health Survey 2016, the petitioner claimed that around 14 per cent of India's population requires active mental health interventions and around 2 per cent Indians were suffering from severe mental disorders. Also Read:NMC directs medical colleges to participate in surveys under Supreme Court's National Task force on mental health