Chandigarh, May 21 -- The high court (HC) has come down heavily on the failure of the Punjab and Haryana governments in framing rules for the implementation of mental health care law-- Mental Health Care Act, 2017.

"It is unfortunate to note that even after expiry of 7-8 years since promulgation of the Act of 2017, rules have not yet been notified even by both the states of Punjab and Haryana. Considering the fact that the Act of 2017 is a welfare legislation, both the states are obliged to frame the rules to give effect to various provisions of the Act," the bench of chief justice Sheel Nagu and justice Sumeet Goel observed when informed that both the states are yet to frame the rules.

The court underlined that in the absence of framin...