Section 3:
Determination of mental illness.
(1) Mental illness shall be determined in accordance with such
nationally or internationally accepted medical standards (including the latest edition of the International
Classification of Disease of the World Health Organisation) as may be notified by the Central Government.
(2) No person or authority shall classify a person as a person with mental illness, except for purposes
directly relating to the treatment of the mental illness or in other matters as covered under this Act or any
other law for the time being in force.
(3) Mental illness of a person shall not be determined on the basis of,—
(a) political, economic or social status or membership of a cultural, racial or religious group, or for
any other reason not directly relevant to mental health status of the person;
(b) non-conformity with moral, social, cultural, work or political values or religious beliefs prevailing
in a person's community.
(4) Past treatment or hospitalisation in a mental health establishment though relevant, shall not by itself
justify any present or future determination of the person's mental illness.
(5) The determination of a person's mental illness shall alone not imply or be taken to mean that the
person is of unsound mind unless he has been declared as such by a competent court.