{
  "id": 5376872,
  "title": "Kerala High Court welcomes renaming of mental health centres as ‘happiness and wellness centres’",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/03/kerala-high-court-welcomes-renaming-of-mental-health-centres-as",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-09-03T17:25:39.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Hindu",
    "slug": "the-hindu",
    "url": "https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/kerala-high-court-welcomes-renaming-of-mental-health-centres-as-happiness-and-wellness-centres/article71424883.ece"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Kerala High Court has welcomed the State government's decision to rename mental health centres as \"happiness and wellness centres\". The court expressed satisfaction with the move, noting that the previous stigmatisation of patients, bystanders, and the centres themselves was a significant issue. A Division Bench of Justices Devan Ramachandran and Basant Balaji, who recently visited the centres in Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, and Kozhikode, said the change in name would help bring about the desired transformation. They emphasised that failure to address the human rights violations of patients would tarnish the image of the civilized community and nation. The Advocate General informed the court that the government was addressing infrastructure and staffing issues at the centres with \"full sincerity\". The court acknowledged that some issues would require time and substantial investment, but stressed that violations of constitutional rights, even if unintentional, must be rectified immediately. The Bench outlined four key areas that the State should address forthwith: appointing sufficient staff, constructing secure perimeters, ensuring continuous availability of necessary medicines, and providing at least one vehicle, preferably electric, for transportation at each centre. The court suggested transforming the premises of the centres into gardens to create open spaces for patients to move freely without fear of getting lost or attempting to escape. The matter has been set for hearing on September 15.",
  "summary": "“We are sure that the change of name will catalyse the change that we want to see,” says a Division Bench of Justice Devan Ramachandran and Justice Basant Balaji",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}