The rules Kerala pays wild animal attack victims under, and the ex gratia they fix

Background

Kerala pays victims of wild animal attacks under the Kerala Rules for Payment of Compensation to Victims of Attack by Wild Animals, 1980, read with a Government Order of 22 March 2013 that fixed the amount. In the case in which the High Court has just held the State liable despite not owning wild animals, the Forest Range Officer had paid ₹75,000 as emergency relief, which the State argued was the maximum payable under those rules. The High Court held the rules fix the amount and the procedure for ex gratia relief only and are not the sole remedy, because the right to just compensation flows from Article 21 and the common law principle of strict liability. The State's duty to protect wildlife rests on Article 48A of the Constitution and the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.