Be treated with dignity
Care should not involve humiliation, threats, violence or degrading punishment. Ask how concerns and complaints are handled.
Dignity is part of treatment
Care should never cost someone their dignity.
Right for Treatment stands against illegal and abusive de-addiction centres, and for care grounded in dignity and safety. This guide helps patients and families understand the safeguards to ask about and find official support.
A warning sign is a reason to ask questions—not proof that a centre has broken the law.
Is someone in immediate danger?
Move to a safer place if possible. Call India’s emergency response number 112 for police, fire or medical assistance.
01Know what good care asks of us
Treatment is not permission to take away respect.
Substance use does not make a person less deserving of safety, privacy or humane treatment. These principles can help start a conversation with a provider or a trusted supporter.
Understand the care
Where it is safe to do so, ask for a plain-language explanation of the care plan, likely risks, costs, staff qualifications and how to contact a responsible clinician.
Be heard in decisions
Ask how consent, decision-making ability and any limits on a person's choices are assessed, documented and reviewed. The answer depends on the person and setting.
Know how privacy is protected
Ask who can see personal or medical information, and how someone can speak privately with a trusted person or raise a concern safely.
02Notice what does not feel right
When care becomes cause for concern.
One or more concerns may warrant questions or independent advice. They do not, on their own, prove that a centre is unlawful. Context, state rules and the person's circumstances matter.
No clear answers. Staff will not explain the centre's identity, who is responsible for care, what treatment is proposed, or what it costs.
Isolation without explanation. A person cannot contact anyone they trust, learn how to raise a concern, or understand why communication is restricted.
Threats or degrading treatment. Reports of violence, intimidation, punishment or restraint with no clear clinical explanation and review.
Medical needs are ignored. A person appears unwell, injured, severely distressed or at risk of withdrawal, but cannot access timely qualified medical care.
Important information is withheld. Nobody will explain the basis for admission, the care plan, how medicines are managed, or how a person may ask for a review.
03How coercion can become a cycle
From a forced pickup to repeat admission.
A possible pattern begins when a family in crisis is promised a quick solution and a private team—sometimes called “bouncers”—is hired to take someone away. Confinement, loss of contact, harmful treatment, release without continuing support, and another crisis may follow. This is a pattern to recognise, not a claim about every family or centre and not, by itself, proof of an offence.
The promise
A family is pressured to act
A worried relative may be told that a “quick pickup,” total separation, or a guaranteed cure is the only option. A broker or facility may not clearly explain who will transport the person, what authority is being relied on, or what the treatment will involve.
Ask: Who is responsible, what is the clinical plan, and what lawful authority—if any—permits a non-consensual transfer?
The pickup
A person is taken against their wishes
Private crew members may use force, restraint, threats or deception to move someone. Calling a team “bouncers,” or saying that a family requested the transfer, does not by itself establish whether the transfer was lawful. The facts and any actual legal authority matter.
Possible legal issue: BNS section 126 concerns wrongful restraint; sections 137–138 address defined forms of kidnapping and abduction. Their elements are specific.
The confinement
Leaving is no longer a real choice
At the facility, a person may report locked exits, guards blocking movement, or being kept within a building or grounds. If movement is wrongfully blocked or a person is confined within limits, BNS sections 126–127 may warrant legal review; the section’s elements, lawful authority and any applicable safeguards must be assessed.
Warning sign: Nobody can explain the basis, review process, duration, or safe route for raising a concern.
The outside world disappears
Communication and care are cut off
Phones, identity documents or personal belongings may be taken. Calls, visits, messages, private medical conversations or access to an independent adviser may be blocked. A device restriction alone does not decide legality, but secrecy and isolation can make it much harder to ask for help or check on someone’s safety.
Check: Can the person speak to a trusted person or clinician, and can someone independently verify their wellbeing?
Harm without recourse
Inhumane treatment may be hidden
Allegations can include hitting, threats, humiliation, punishment, unsafe restraint, untreated injury or a medical crisis being ignored. Depending on the evidence and statutory elements, BNS provisions on hurt, grievous hurt, assault or criminal force, and criminal intimidation may be relevant. A report is a reason to seek an independent assessment, not a court finding.
Keep safety first: Seek urgent medical attention for injury, severe distress, overdose or dangerous withdrawal.
Release, crisis, return
The same crisis can start again
If someone leaves without continuing clinical care, a realistic follow-up plan or community support, difficult needs may remain. A return to substance use can have many causes; it is not a moral failure and does not justify violence, punishment or automatic confinement. A family may then be frightened into arranging another pickup and re-admission.
Break the loop: Ask about qualified treatment, voluntary choices where possible, medical follow-up, aftercare and a safe way to raise concerns.
Pressure→Pickup→Isolation→Release without support→Crisis↺
For families: watch for the sales pitch
Concern can make a family vulnerable to misinformation.
Fear, exhaustion, stigma and a lack of reliable information can make a promise of a “guaranteed cure” sound convincing. Be cautious if anyone:
- claims that force, secrecy or cutting off every outside contact is automatically lawful or necessary;
- cannot clearly identify the facility, responsible clinician, treatment plan, costs or complaint route;
- pressures you to sign quickly, discourages an independent medical opinion, or says the person should simply be “sent back” after relapse.
Before arranging care, ask how admission is being authorised, who can explain it to the person, how contact and medical needs are handled, and what aftercare will look like.
Support and accountability can coexist
Families may be misled—and still have responsibilities.
A worried or misled family is not automatically criminally responsible. But concern does not make every decision harmless. Knowingly arranging a forceful pickup, instructing a facility to confine someone or cut all contact, or deliberately helping conceal abuse may raise serious legal questions.
The BNS addresses abetment, conspiracy and acts carried out with a shared common intention. Those provisions require specific legal elements and evidence. A family relationship, a payment, or mere presence is not proof of guilt.
If you arranged admission and later learn that the person cannot leave or may be harmed, do not rely only on the centre’s account. Seek an independent medical and legal review, and contact an appropriate authority when safe.
LAWPlain-language pointers
BNS sections that may merit a lawyer’s review
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 is India’s criminal law. These section numbers are possible issue areas—not charges, conclusions, or a legal opinion about any person or centre.
Wrongful restraint and confinement
Preventing someone from proceeding where they have a right to go, or wrongfully keeping them within defined limits. Section 127 also addresses particular circumstances such as prolonged or concealed confinement.
Hurt and grievous hurt
Possible provisions where bodily pain, injury or specified dangerous means are alleged. The Act defines the terms and requires its own elements; an allegation alone is not proof.
Criminal force and assault
Sections 129–130 define criminal force and assault; section 131 sets out punishment for assault or criminal force otherwise than on grave provocation.
Criminal intimidation
May be relevant to threats only where the section’s requirements—including the specified intent—are supported by the facts.
Participation by others
Section 45 covers defined forms of abetment, including intentional aid; section 61 addresses criminal conspiracy; section 3(5) concerns a criminal act by several people in furtherance of their common intention. The elements differ.
Kidnapping and abduction definitions
These provisions define specific situations. Their titles should not be used as shorthand for every disputed transport; the person’s age or legal status, the means used, purpose and related provisions matter.
Important limits. The BNS does not by itself answer whether a particular centre is authorised to operate. Other central and state or UT laws may apply. Legal classification depends on facts, evidence, consent, authority and statutory elements. Get qualified legal advice; this guide does not determine liability.
Read the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 on official India Code
04A careful next step
What you can do from here.
There is no single path for every situation. Take only the steps that are safe and relevant to you.
Immediate danger or a medical emergency?
Call 112 from a safe place. Do not try to manage a severe medical crisis or withdrawal alone.
Start with immediate safety
If you can, move to a safe place and contact a trusted person. If someone may be seriously unwell, seek urgent qualified medical help.
Keep a factual record
When it is safe, note dates, names, what you observed, costs and conversations. Keep copies of documents you already have lawful access to. Do not put anyone at risk to gather evidence.
Ask an independent authority
Depending on the facility and concern, seek guidance from the relevant state or UT health department, State Mental Health Authority, district health office or local police. Which body is responsible can vary.
Get legal or rights support
Ask about free legal services through NALSA. For a human-rights concern, the official NHRC/State Human Rights Commission portal explains complaint steps and required verification.
Pause before sharing publicly
Consider whether public posts, names, photos or medical details could identify someone or increase risk. Share only what is necessary with a trusted professional or authority.
05Official information & support
A few places to start.
These links go to public authorities and official services. Service availability and procedures may change; check each official page for current details.
Emergency response112 — emergency assistancePan-India emergency response for police, fire and health-related assistance.
Substance-use support14446 — national helplineThe Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment lists this toll-free helpline for people affected by substance use and their families.
Legal aidNALSA — free legal servicesExplore legal-aid information and state legal services authorities. NALSA lists its toll-free helpline at 15100.
Rights complaintNHRC / SHRC online portalOfficial portal for choosing a National or listed State Human Rights Commission; mobile verification is required.
Read the lawMental Healthcare Act, 2017Official India Code text. Read it alongside relevant rules and seek qualified advice about how it applies.
Criminal lawBharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023Official India Code record and Act text. Check the full wording and any later amendments with a qualified adviser.
Helplines are not a substitute for emergency response. If a person is in immediate danger, call 112.
06Contact Right for Treatment
A concern deserves to be heard.
For general advocacy enquiries, write to us. Please share only what you are comfortable sending. Email is not an emergency channel, and this website does not collect a contact form or case details.
Please keep in mind
Not emergency support. This site is an information and advocacy resource. It is not monitored as an emergency channel; call 112 if someone is in immediate danger.
Not medical or legal advice. Nothing here assesses an individual, substitutes for qualified care, or determines whether a particular centre has acted unlawfully. Laws and complaint routes may depend on the facility, facts and state or UT.
Privacy. This page has no contact form or file uploads; injected site analytics and the optional platform badge are disabled. Hosting or CDN services may still process technical data under their own policies. Email is not guaranteed private or secure; avoid sending sensitive identity or health information unless you have considered the risks.
Links are for information. Official resources are linked for convenience. Their inclusion is not an endorsement of a particular facility or outcome.