SC seeks response from Centre, states on mental hospitals

The Supreme Court today sought responses from the Centre and state governments to a plea for improving the condition of mental hospitals in the country by providing adequate financial resources and increasing the number of trained doctors.
A bench headed by Justice K S Radhakrishnan asked the governments to file their responses on the petition filed by National Human Rights Commission seeking its direction to set up more mental health hospital and make them mode autonomous.
"The mental health hospitals in the country are facing serious financial constraints as adequate resources allocation is not being made to meet their requirements. The Centre and state governments should accord priority in allocation of financial resources both for the regular maintenance and the upgradation of the physical infrastructure of these institutions," the Commission said.

It said many of the mental hospitals are 100 to 150 years old and they do not receive the same priority as general health.