The Kerala High Court has directed the competent authorities of the State government to consider suggestions to rename “Mental Health Centres” across the State, observing that the name “attracted a lot of stigma”. A Division Bench of Justice Devan Ramachandran and Justice Basant Balaji noted that when other hospitals were not termed “Centres of Physical Health”, there was no reason for these centres to be tagged as “Mental Health Centres”, with the disrepute of catering to a particular kind of disorder or illness.In this regard, the amicus curiae suggested that the centres be renamed as “Institutes of Behavioural Management”. The court held that it was a matter of policy and the decision was completely up to the State.The court held that the vulnerable sections of the patients should be kept away from the ill effects attached to the name, and the centres should be considered as favourable to community welfare and development rather than for a particular kind of illness. Published - August 24, 2026 09:40 pm IST