State liable for compensation for injury or damage caused by attacks by wild animals: High Court of Kerala

The state government is considered the owner and custodian of wild animals and must compensate victims of wild animal attacks commensurate with the amount of loss suffered, the Kerala High Court has ruled.

Justice CP Mohammed Nias dismissed an appeal filed by the Wildlife Warden, Kurichiyadu Range, Sulthan Bathery and other forest authorities challenging the award of ₹2 lakh as compensation to the family of a person who died after an elephant attack. The court upheld the findings of the Sub-Court of Sulthan Bathery and the Wayanad District Court, awarding ₹1,78,000 to the victim’s family and holding the forest authorities responsible for the victim’s death.

The forest department argued before the Supreme Court that the sub-court and the district court had ignored the Kerala Rules for Payment of Compensation to Victims of Attack by Wild Animals, 1980, which fixed the compensation at ₹20,000. The High Court held that the Rules were framed as an ex gratia scheme and cannot be taken as the only remedy available to a citizen who suffers loss of life or injury due to attacks by wild animals.

The family of victim Scaria argued before the lower court that his death while walking on the panchayat road was due to the negligence and carelessness of the forest officials. They claimed that after several petitions were filed, the department provided ₹20,000 as compensation. The family issued a legal notice seeking ₹2 lakh and the compensation claim in the trial court was limited to ₹1.80 lakh.

The forest department claimed that the deceased was drunk at the time and that his death was due to his own negligence. The ministry claimed it had taken sufficient precautions to prevent wild animals from entering private land.

The sub-court found that the incident took place on a panchayat road and that the authorities had not installed electric fencing and ditches along the forest boundary to prevent wild animals from leaving the forest land and entering private land. This decision was also confirmed by the regional court.

Published – 01 Sep 2026 0:21 IST