Renaming ‘mental health centres’: Kerala HC seeks govt’s views
Aug 22, 2026, 10.32 PM IST
Kochi: The high court has sought the state govt’s response to a suggestion to rename the ‘mental health centres’ in Kerala, observing that the nomenclature is an issue of great relevance in modern times.
A bench of Justices Devan Ramachandran and Basant Balaji issued the directive in an interlocutory application (IA) filed by amicus curiae Sathyasree Priya in a petition concerning the conditions at mental health centres. According to the amicus curiae, the term ‘mental health centres’ carries considerable stigma, and suggested renaming them ‘institutes of behavioural management’ or something similar.
The court said the govt must look into the issue, particularly as other hospitals are not called ‘centres of physical health’. It observed that there was no apparent reason why these institutions should carry the tag of ‘mental health’ centres. The bench further said the change in nomenclature was intended to protect vulnerable patients from stigma and ensure that the centres were perceived as institutions serving community welfare and development rather than as facilities for treating a particular kind of illness. The bench adjourned the petition to Sept 19.
A bench of Justices Devan Ramachandran and Basant Balaji issued the directive in an interlocutory application (IA) filed by amicus curiae Sathyasree Priya in a petition concerning the conditions at mental health centres. According to the amicus curiae, the term ‘mental health centres’ carries considerable stigma, and suggested renaming them ‘institutes of behavioural management’ or something similar.
The court said the govt must look into the issue, particularly as other hospitals are not called ‘centres of physical health’. It observed that there was no apparent reason why these institutions should carry the tag of ‘mental health’ centres. The bench further said the change in nomenclature was intended to protect vulnerable patients from stigma and ensure that the centres were perceived as institutions serving community welfare and development rather than as facilities for treating a particular kind of illness. The bench adjourned the petition to Sept 19.