State liable to compensate for wild animal attack victims, Kerala High Court rules

The Kerala High Court has held that the state government, as owner and custodian of wild animals, must compensate victims based on the magnitude of loss suffered. Justice C.P. Mohammed Nias upheld ₹1,78,000 awarded to the family of Scaria, killed in an elephant attack in Wayanad, rejecting the Forest department's argument that the ₹20,000 ex gratia limit under 1980 Rules was the sole remedy.

The Rules were formulated as an ex gratia scheme, and it could not be taken as the sole remedy available to a citizen who suffers loss of life or injury from wild animal attacks.