KSHRC directs Kerala to pay maximum aid to families of Idukki gas victims

The Kerala State Human Rights Commission has directed the State government to grant the highest possible financial assistance to the families of three Tamil Nadu natives who died after inhaling toxic gas at a hotel's waste treatment plant in Kattappana, in Idukki district.

In an order passed by commission chairperson Alexander Thomas, the Chief Secretary has been asked to move immediately to sanction the maximum eligible relief from the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund, in case compensation has not already reached the affected families.

The deaths occurred on October 1, 2025, when the three workers — Jayaraman, Michael and Sundarapandian — were trapped inside the hotel's sewage treatment plant and succumbed to the toxic gas.

The commission also instructed the Idukki Collector, working with the District Labour Officer, to identify the authority competent to award compensation under the Employee's Compensation Act, which provides for losses suffered by dependents in workplace fatalities. The Collector has further been told to arrange legal aid for the legal heirs of the deceased so they can pursue their compensation claims.

The order followed petitions filed by Safai Karmachari, based in New Delhi, and Madurai-based Shreshta, both seeking compensation for the victims' families. Though the petitioners did not appear before the commission or file replies, and the criminal case in the matter is still pending, Mr. Thomas observed that the complainants are not direct dependents of the deceased. The commission, he noted, took up the issue in the public interest.