Mental Treatment Act, 1945

Application for and making of temporary private patient reception order.

185.—(1) Where it is desired to have a person received and detained in an approved institution as a temporary patient and as a private patient, application may be made in the prescribed form to the person in charge of the institution for an order (in this Act referred to as a temporary private patient reception order) to have such person received and detained as a temporary patient and as a private patient in such institution.

(2) An application under this section may be made—

(a) by the husband or wife or a relative of the person to whom the application relates, or

(b) subject to the provisions of the next following sub-section, by any other person.

(3) Where an application under this section is not made by the husband or wife or a relative of the person to whom the application relates, the application shall contain a statement of the reasons why it is not so made, of the connection of the applicant with the person to whom the application relates, and of the circumstances in which the application is made.

(4) An application under this section shall be accompanied by a certificate in the prescribed form signed by two registered medical practitioners certifying that each of them has examined separately the person to whom the application relates on a specified date not earlier than seven days before the date of the application and is of opinion either—

(a) that such person—

(i) is suffering from mental illness, and

(ii) requires, for his recovery, not more than six months' suitable treatment, and

(iii) is unfit on account of his mental state for treatment as a voluntary patient, or

(b) that such person—

(i) is an addict, and

(ii) requires, for his recovery, at least six months' preventive and curative treatment.

(5) A certificate under the next preceding sub-section shall not be given by a registered medical practitioner who is—

(a) the person in charge of the approved institution in which the person in respect of whom the certificate is given is to be received, or

(b) a person in the employment of the person in charge of such institution, or

(c) a person having an interest in such institution.

(6) After consideration of an application for a temporary private patient reception order and of the medical certificate accompanying the application, the person to whom the application is made may, if he so thinks proper, make such order in the prescribed form.