(1)On receipt of a request under section 15 or section 16, the medical officer in charge shall make such inquiry as he may deem fit within a period not exceeding twenty-four hours and if satisfied that the applicant or, as the case may be, the minor requires treatment as an inpatient in the psychiatric hospital or psychiatric nursing home, he may admit therein such applicant or, as the case may be, minor as a voluntary patient.
