Kerala High Court Seeks Centre’s Clarification on Long-Pending AIIMS Proposal
The Kerala High Court has sought clarity from the Central Government on the long-pending proposal to establish an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Kerala, questioning whether the state’s relatively strong healthcare infrastructure
The Kerala High Court has sought clarity from the Central Government on the long-pending proposal to establish an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Kerala, questioning whether the state’s relatively strong healthcare infrastructure should affect its eligibility for the premier medical institution.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice V M Syam Kumar granted the Centre six weeks to respond to a public interest litigation seeking an AIIMS in Kerala. The court questioned the criteria used to prioritise states for new AIIMS institutions and observed that Kerala’s existing healthcare infrastructure should not become a disadvantage.
The Centre informed the court that the proposal falls under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) and that no in-principle approval has been granted so far. It stated that the continuation of the scheme is undergoing inter-ministerial consultations and that a decision on establishing a new AIIMS would require policy approval, budgetary allocation and subsequent Cabinet consideration.
The proposal has been pending since 2016. Kerala has identified four potential locations over the years: Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam and Ernakulam. In 2025, the state indicated its preference for Kinaloor in Kozhikode district as the proposed site.
The Centre also highlighted existing investments in Kerala’s tertiary healthcare infrastructure, including super-speciality blocks at three government medical colleges in Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode and Alappuzha, along with a 170-bed super-speciality block at the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology in Thiruvananthapuram.
The court’s intervention has renewed attention on Kerala’s demand for an AIIMS to expand access to advanced medical treatment, specialised healthcare services, medical education and research. However, the establishment of the institute remains subject to a formal decision by the Union Government, and no final approval or construction timeline has been announced.
