Kerala High Court judicial team inspects Mental Health Centre in Thiruvananthapuram

Justice Devan Ramachandran and Justice Basant Balaji of the Kerala High Court on Saturday (July 18, 2026) inspected the Mental Health Centre (MHC), Thiruvananthapuram, and its various facilities.

They went on a detailed tour of the MHC and its campus sprawled over 26 acres, which houses several in-patient blocks, women’s wards as well as the high-security forensic block.

Senior health officials who accompanied the judicial officers and team said that infrastructure deficiencies, shortage of staff to take care of patients, especially those who need personal care assistance, issues of safety and security of patients and lack of patient amenities were all presented before the judicial team.

“They have promised to give necessary directives to the government as judicial orders,” a senior health official said.

“Issues such as lack of adequate security and police aid posts need immediate attention. We have adequate number of doctors, but there is an acute shortage of grade IV employees – helpers, attenders, launderers, cooks and drivers. Unlike in other hospitals, patient care requirements in mental health hospitals are high,” he added

An earlier project, a ₹100-crore master plan for the 150-years-old MHC, was replaced by another project, for which ₹87 crore was approved through KIIFB. However, this is yet to be taken forward.

The Public Works department identified some of the buildings on the MHC premises as unfit and stated that they should be demolished to make way for new ones. Patients have been evacuated to existing facilities, leading to some overcrowding.

The fact that many of the patient-friendly and modernisation initiatives implemented in various public hospitals have bypassed this 150-year-old institution underscores the insufficient priority accorded to mental health issues in the State, the team is said to have opined.

“The High Court has been the only beacon of hope for mental health institutions in the State. The care issues and human rights of mentally-ill persons have received attention from authorities only because of the active interventions of the judiciary. Mental health issues such as depression and suicides are on the rise in the State and it is imperative that the MHC here is developed into a modern psychiatry hospital,” one of the lawyers and human rights activists attached to Kerala Legal Services Society, said

Amicus Curiae Ramkumar Nambiar, District Legal Service Authority Secretary and sub judge Lekshmi K. Thampi, City Police Commissioner Arul R.B. Krishna, Director of Health Services V. Meenakshy, Director of Social Justice and a host of health officials were also part of the inspection tour.