Kerala HC Directs State To Address Staffing, Security And Medicine Shortages At Mental Health Centres

Kochi: The Kerala High Court, in a suo motu public interest litigation concerning conditions at the State's mental health centres, has directed the State Government to immediately address four critical areas staffing, security, medicine supply and transport while expressing satisfaction over the Government's decision to rename the centres as “Happiness and Wellness Centres.”

A Division Bench of Justice Devan Ramachandran and Justice Basant Balaji was hearing the matter, having earlier passed orders on 21.07.2026, 29.07.2026 and 18.08.2026 after personally visiting the centres at Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur and Kozhikode.

Advocate General Sri K. Jaju Babu, instructed by Special Government Pleader Smt. Rema, informed the court that the State had decided to rename the centres, pursuant to the court's earlier order dated 21.08.2026 in I.A. No. 25 of 2026. The Bench described this as a welcome first step and observed that the stigmatisation faced by patients, their bystanders and the centres themselves including the pejorative manner in which even their locations are often referred to could not be ignored, and expressed hope that the change of name would catalyse the broader change it sought to see.

The court acknowledged that several of the concerns recorded in its earlier orders would require time and substantial investment, and that the Advocate General had assured it that the Government's response, in keeping with the requisites of a welfare state, was being pursued with sincerity. However, the Bench held that where violations of human rights arose solely from a lack of facilities, no such latitude could be extended, and that a lack of resources could never justify allowing citizens to languish in what it termed “prison-like and cage-like” conditions.

The court accordingly directed the State to forthwith address four aspects: appointment of sufficient attenders, cooks, dhobis and security personnel at all centres; construction of compound walls to secure the perimeters; uninterrupted availability of medicines, for both mental and physical health, as requisitioned by superintendents and doctors; and provision of at least one or two vehicles, preferably electric, at each centre for transporting food and other ancillary purposes.

The Bench observed that once adequate staffing and secured perimeters were in place, patients could be allowed greater freedom within the centres' grounds without fear of them escaping or getting lost, noting that the extensive land available including a garden of over two acres at Kozhikode currently left decrepit despite the District Collector's assurance to restore it could be transformed into spaces open even to visitors.

Emphasising the urgency of the matter, the court observed that “the continued violation of human rights would reduce the civilized community and nation to shame.”

The Advocate General sought a week's time to examine these four aspects, while assuring the court that all other concerns recorded in the earlier orders would be evaluated and answered without delay. The court, noting that timelines had already been fixed in its earlier orders, declined to permit any further delay and posted the matter for further hearing on 15.09.2026.

Appearances:

For the Petitioner: X, Suo Motu (Party-in-Person).

For the State: Sri. K. Jaju Babu, Advocate General, instructed by Smt. Rema, Special Government Pleader.

Case Title: The High Court Legal Services Committee & Another vs. The State of Kerala & Others, W.P.(C) No. 16603 of 2026