Banks should have compassionate outlook in situations like Wayanad landslide, says Kerala HC

Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Friday highlighted that banks need to have a compassionate outlook as it held that they should not have deducted loan EMIs from the compensation received in the accounts of survivors of the devastating Wayanad landslides.

A bench of Justices A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and Syam Kumar V.M. directed the state's counsel to find out whether such practices are being resorted to by banks.

"No doubt, banks advancing loans can recollect. But when there is money given for a particular purpose to discharge obligations, the bank holds it in trust for beneficiaries. It cannot appropriate it for other uses of the bank. Second, the bank has a fundamental duty to show compassion in situations like this. It is a fundamental duty for crying out loud! Please find out whether any such thing has happened like this in the state. If it is happening, we will intervene," the bench said.

"Ultimately, we are missing out on the humanitarian aspect of the whole thing. In the first week, everyone will cry and in the next week, they do things like this," it remarked.

The court also directed the state to ensure that the compensation amounts given reach the intended beneficiaries.

"Please ensure that whatever amount is given (as compensation or relief) is actually received. These people can't be expected to come to court," it said.

The court was hearing the suo motu case initiated to monitor relief measures in Wayanad after the July 30 landslides led to the biggest-ever natural disaster in a single place in the state, leaving at least 416 people dead and around 120 people still missing and causing extensive damage to property and infrastructure. Four villages in Wayanad districts were totally washed away and till recently there were over 11,000 affected people in over 1,100 relief camps. By now, the state government has started moving people from relief camps to homes which have been taken on rent, which will be paid by the state government.