# Kerala High Court slams State for crores in unpaid fines on illegal banners 2026-08-16T00:01:05+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets The Kerala High Court on Friday sharply criticised state authorities and local self-government bodies for failing to collect fines on unauthorised flags, boards and hoardings, saying the inaction was costing the State crores of rupees in revenue. Justice Devan Ramachandran noted a discrepancy between the number of installations removed, as reported by the Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam Corporations and an affidavit sworn by the Chief Secretary, and the fines shown as imposed or collected. LiveLaw reports the Court observed that the columns for fines showed either "zero" or negligible amounts. The Court had earlier directed a fine of ₹5,000 per installation. LiveLaw quotes Justice Ramachandran as saying the State was losing valuable revenue and called the authorities' conduct "virtually a criminal action" that denuded the State treasury. The Hindu adds that the Court reproached the Joint Directors of Urban Affairs for not filing reports on implementation. The Court reiterated that Secretaries and other responsible officials would be personally liable if fines were not imposed and collected properly, and placed them under notice of their statutory duty. The Government Pleader and standing counsel sought time to explain how fines would be imposed and recovered. The Court adjourned the matter to September 3 for further consideration. ## Coverage - livelaw.in - thehindu.com This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-08-17T01:25:55+00:00. Tags: Devan Ramachandran, Kerala High Court, Kollam Corporation, Thiruvananthapuram Corporation Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/kerala-high-court-slams-negligible-fine-recovery-on-unauthorised-flags/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/kerala-high-court-slams-negligible-fine-recovery-on-unauthorised-flags/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/