IHBAS is the largest mental hospitals in the world in terms of number of patients served and area of campus.

[2] The Hospital for Mental Diseases in Shahdara, Delhi (HMD) was the final establishment built that started from a chain of lunatic asylums that were begun by the East India Company and British Raj.

[4] IHBAS was established in 1993, in response to a Supreme Court verdict, transforming previous HMD into a centre for treatment, training, and research.

[citation needed] The Hindu in August 2013 reported that multiple requests for a photocopy of medical records of individuals who sought treatment were refused by the Department of Psychiatry, IHBAS, New Delhi.

[6] In June, 2013, The Hindustan Times reported that Devinderpal Singh Bhullar who was accused in a 1993 bombing incident which killed 9 people was evaluated for more than 1 year in IHBAS, New Delhi there the treating psychiatrists concluded that he was suffering from severe depression and was not mentally fit for his execution in Tihar Jail.