Overview

• Justices A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and P.M. Manoj criticised the Centre for refusing relief based on a deleted provision in the Disaster Management Act.
• The court emphasised that the Union’s residual powers under Article 73 of the Constitution are independent of the Act’s Section 13.
• A deadline of three weeks was set for the government to announce its decision on loan relief for those affected.
• Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking restoration of Section 13 to streamline disaster loan waivers.
• The July 30, 2024 landslides in Wayanad killed at least 200 people and left 32 missing after sweeping through four villages.