Legal Terms Used in Reception Order and their Relevance to Judicial Process

INTRODUCTION: Law governs the admission and management of involuntary admissions of mentally ill persons who are admitted under the provisions of the mental health act. The court directs the doctor to take charge of such persons. In the further dealings of such person the medical officer of the psychiatric facility comes across legal terms, which require understanding so that patients could be dealt with properly. Various terms such as accused, under police custody, judicial custody, remand prisoner, or under trial prisoner are used to denote their legal status. It is imperative for the medical officer to understand the nuances in the meanings of these terms. There are many times when the relevant section under which the admission is ordered is not found in the reception order. In these cases the terminology by which the patient is mentioned throws a light on the status of the patient. Towards this aim a study was carried out to assess the awareness and understanding of such terms by the faculty and post- graduates of a tertiary care hospital that deals with the admission and care of such patients. METHOD: They were administered a questionnaire containing these terms and asked to provide the meaning of these terms. RESULTS: The results showed that nearly half the faculty and students were not having clarity in awareness or understanding of the terms. DISCUSSION: Hence these terms and their meanings were gleaned from various judgments. The proper meaning of these terms and their use in judicial process and their importance is discussed.