The Kerala High Court warned it may attach State treasury accounts if delays in funds for victim compensation and mediator fees aren’t fixed within a week. The Court ordered the Finance Secretary to appear and justify the delay.
The Kerala High Court warned it may attach the State’s treasury accounts to fund victim compensation schemes and pay mediator fees if the delays in releasing those funds are not rectified within a week.
The Court also ordered the State’s Finance Secretary to appear personally and file an affidavit explaining the reasons for the hold-ups.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar VM was hearing a suo motu matter that examines infrastructural shortcomings and funding problems at mediation centres across Kerala, alongside delays in disbursing victim compensation.
The Court said,
“We direct the secretary to government, Finance Department to be personally present with an affidavit to explain the reason for not releasing the victims compensation and also the fees of the mediator. In the event the funds are not released within a period of one week, we shall be constrained to pass appropriate orders attaching the accounts to the extent due on such parts,”
The case is scheduled for further hearing next week.
Earlier, the Court had summoned the State’s Home Secretary, Bishwanath Sinha, for personal attendance; he instead joined by video conference.
Chief Justice Sen observed,
“The order was to be personally present in Court, not virtual,”
Senior Government Pleader Vinitha B told the Court that Sinha had filed an affidavit explaining why he appeared virtually.
Sinha said he had not been given notice about a March 11 stakeholders’ meeting that discussed mediator honorariums and victim compensation, and that he was not a member of the Kerala State Legal Services Authority (KeLSA) who would have been expected to attend without notice.
He added the Home Department serves only as a nodal agency for regulation, administration and monitoring; financial sanctioning rests with the Finance Department.
Accepting that explanation, the Court excused Sinha and directed the Finance Secretary to appear in person and clarify the delays.
The Bench expressed dissatisfaction with the State’s explanations for the slow release of victim compensation funds.
The senior government pleader explained that disbursement was delayed because the scheme relies on multiple funding sources fines imposed by criminal courts, corporate social responsibility contributions and other receipts. She asked for time to file an affidavit detailing the delay and the statutory release process.
The Court, however, questioned repeated requests for more time after having already granted several opportunities.
Noting that the law envisages state budgetary allocation for the victim compensation fund, Justice Syam Kumar VM asked,
“According to the rules, the victim compensation fund is something that the State has to meet. What point is there in saying that contributions from corporate agencies have to come?”
An earlier affidavit by Anil K Bhaskar, KeLSA’s Member Secretary, described severe financial constraints hampering mediation work. It said mediator honorarium arrears have mounted because the State did not release funds, with payments from July 2024 onward still pending and total arrears exceeding Rs.10 crore, based on figures from District Mediation Centres.
The affidavit also cited a recommendation from the Supreme Court’s Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee (MCPC) to revise mediator honoraria nationally; Kerala’s proposed increase was not approved because of budgetary limits.
In another affidavit, KeLSA flagged major delays in victim compensation payments. Framed under Section 357A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (now replaced by BNSS), the Kerala Victim Compensation Scheme requires the State to provide financial assistance for victims needing rehabilitation.
KeLSA reported 1,424 pending compensation applications as of January 2026, totaling nearly ₹47 crore, and said annual budget allocations fell well short of actual needs causing the payment delays.
Advocate Leo Lukose appeared for KeLSA.