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The Bench directed the Union Territory Administration to continue the awareness drive for the next three months and thereafter keep the application window open for at least two months for mentally ill patients seeking admission.

Hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) titled ‘Jatinder Maan and another versus UT Chandigarh and others’, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry noted that the UT Administration had decided on April 28, 2026, to allow sharing of the Sector 31-C Group Home with paid senior citizens due to low occupancy by patients suffering from mental illness.

“Therefore, this Court, by way of an interim order, directs that the process of spreading awareness through a widely publicised campaign shall continue for the next three months and thereafter a window of at least two months shall be kept open for mentally ill patients to apply. Till then, the admission of paid senior citizens shall remain postponed,” the court said.

“However, the present interim order shall not affect those paid senior citizens who have already been admitted. The applications of senior citizens that are pending may be received, but the same shall not be processed for the time being till next date of hearing,” the high court added.

The Bench directed the UT Administration to ensure the availability of adequate professional and Class-IV staff at the facility. It also took note of the fact that the Executive Committee of the UTTHAAN Society, which manages the Group Home, had not met since November 2025.

It was further said in the order, “The U.T. Administration is also directed to ensure availability of adequate professional and Class-IV staff. The U.T. Administration is further directed to ensure that the Executive Committee of the UTTHAAN society for Group Home, as provided in Article 13 of the Memorandum, meets in accordance with the prescribed policy.”

During the hearing, counsel for the petitioners argued that the initial security deposit for admission to the group home was “exorbitant”, touching nearly Rs 20 lakh till November 2025, and was later reduced to around Rs 3 lakh to Rs 6 lakh.

It was further contended that despite the reduction, the Administration had provided only a limited application window of four to six weeks and failed to adequately publicise the facility among eligible beneficiaries.

Taking note of these submissions, the high court observed that the possibility of more mentally ill patients applying for accommodation could not be ruled out if a proper awareness campaign was conducted.

The high court has now directed that a meeting of the Executive Committee be convened within a week and sought a compliance report from the Administration. The matter has been listed for further hearing on July 23.

Residents and caregivers of persons with mental and intellectual disabilities had repeatedly urged the Chandigarh Administration not to accommodate a Senior Citizens’ Home within the Sector 31 Group Home facility, saying it was originally created exclusively for mentally ill persons lacking family support.

In representations to UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria, families alleged that the UT Social Welfare Department took the decision without consulting the UTTHAAN Group Home Society or its executive committee. Caregivers also raised concerns over ‘rigid’ admission norms, lack of trained staff, and insufficient occupational activities at the group home.

Residents argued that Chandigarh already has multiple senior citizens’ homes, while the Sector 31 facility is the region’s only dedicated group home for persons with mental and intellectual disabilities. They said merging two groups with different needs could dilute the original purpose of the project.