Kerala High Court flags poor conditions at Kuthiravattom mental health centre

Kerala High Court flags poor conditions at Kuthiravattom mental health centre Updated – August 22, 2026 12: 07 am IST – KOCHI.

Key points

• The team additionally checked the condition of the cells and the equipment at the hospital.
• At the centre in Thrissur, the judges remarked the accommodation facilities there were more probable to break the minds of patients than heal them.
• There was additionally a shortage of security personnel, cooks, and cleaning staff.

Expressing concern at the state of affairs at the Administration Mental Health Centre at Kuthiravattom in Kozhikode, the Kerala High Court has sought a report from the secretaries concerned of the Health department and the Social Welfare department on the steps being taken to improve infrastructure for patients at the hospital.

Steps must additionally be taken to fill staff vacancies and complete Aadhaar enrolment of patients, the court stated, adding that the conditions at the health centre were similar to those at the centres in Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur. Expressing angst at the condition of the isolation wards and cells, the court remarked numerous of the structures were particularly old, the premises were poorly lit, and a compound wall was needed. There was additionally a shortage of security personnel, cooks, and cleaning staff.

After similar inspections at the two other administration mental health centres in Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur, justice Devan Ramachandran and Justice Basant Balaji of the Kerala High Court inspected the Administration Mental Health Centre, Kuthiravattom, Kozhikode, on Sunday. They were accompanied by amicus curiae Ramkumar Nambiar.

Meanwhile, the team additionally checked the condition of the cells and the equipment at the hospital. They were accompanied by authorities from the Health department, police, and the district administration.

At the centre in Thrissur, the judges remarked the accommodation facilities there were more probable to break the minds of patients than heal them. According to The court had earlier this month, these centres were not isolated facilities but part of the general health ecosystem, and that irrespective of whether a person suffered from physical ailments or mental health matters, the law guaranteed them equal rights.

In short, kerala High Court flags poor conditions at Kuthiravattom mental health centre is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.