The Kerala High Court on Wednesday directed that all loan recovery actions against those affected by the 2024 Wayanad landslide should be put on hold until a related petition is resolved.
The division bench comprising Justices AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and Jobin Sebastian in an interim order expressed strong criticism of the Union government for refusing to consider waiving bank loans taken by survivors of the July 2024 disaster.
The bench noted that the landslide in Meppadi, Wayanad, had claimed the lives of at least 400 people and destroyed vast tracts of land and livelihood. They described the Centre’s stance as “unfortunate” and a denial of the constitutional right to life and dignity under Article 21.
The judges observed that many victims, having lost both land and livelihood, were still being asked to repay agricultural loans despite the fact that the properties they pledged as collateral no longer exist after the landslide, the Indian Express reported.
The court called the stance an affront to the dignity of the victims.
The division bench remarked that by refusing to use powers available under the Constitution in a situation that clearly warranted them, the Union government had effectively failed the people of Wayanad. Referring to Article 73, the judges noted that the Centre had constitutional authority to act in matters Parliament could legislate on.
The bench also pointed out that the landslide had already been classified as “severe” under the 2005 Disaster Management Act, which made the Centre’s inaction more troubling.
It stressed that the relief being sought was only a waiver of small agricultural and livelihood loans — an amount the court described as negligible compared to the ₹707 crore in additional assistance approved by the Centre for Assam and Gujarat after natural calamities in 2024.
The judges further cautioned that party politics cannot be allowed to override the constitutional guarantee of fundamental rights.