Ernakulam: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday closed a public interest litigation (PIL) that sought an increase in the honorarium paid to Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA workers).

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Syam Kumar V M closed the petition after the State Attorney informed the court that the monthly honorarium had been raised by ₹1,000 with effect from November 1, 2025.

According to the State, a committee headed by the Director of the Department of Women and Child Development had been constituted following a meeting chaired by the Health Minister on April 3, 2025. The committee examined the demands put forward by ASHA workers’ trade unions and submitted its report.

The court was informed that the committee’s recommendations had been implemented, increasing the monthly honorarium from ₹7,000 to ₹8,000.

"In view of the above position pointed out to us, according to us it is not necessary for us to keep these petitions pending. If there are any other grievances of these workers, either individually or through their Trade Unions, they can always seek recourse in the competent court of law in that regard. With these clarifications and observations, the public interest litigation is closed," the bench observed.

The court also noted that the petitions were not filed by registered unions representing ASHA workers. However, the registered unions were later impleaded in the proceedings as per the court’s direction.

A section of the ASHA workers has been staging a protest in front of the Secretariat for the past eight months, demanding better remuneration and improved service conditions.

(With inputs from LiveLaw)