The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Madurai News : Court orders compensation to kin of electrocution victims

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Nov 30, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Madurai

Court orders compensation to kin of electrocution victims

Staff Reporter

“No harm in giving relief to them when it is given even to accident victims”

Parents of claimants lost their lives while trying to save a cow
“When negligence is apparent, no need for further investigation”

MADURAI: A Division Bench of the Madras High Court has upheld an order passed by a single judge awarding compensation of Rs.3.1 lakh to four children of a couple who died after coming into contact with a live wire hanging from an electric pole.

Dismissing a writ appeal filed in the Madurai Bench by Tamil Nadu Electricity Board, Justices K. Raviraja Pandian and P.P.S. Janarthana Raja said that the appellant was bound to pay the amount for their negligence in restoring the snapped wire.

“Often, we come across news of the Government compensating victims of road accidents and spurious liquor with several lakhs of rupees. When that being the position, we do not find any arbitrariness in fixing compensation in the present case,” the Judges said.

The Bench held that the single judge was perfectly right in awarding the compensation, by exercising his powers under the writ jurisdiction, without driving the orphaned children to the civil court concerned to prove negligence on the part of TNEB.

Writing the judgement, Mr. Justice Pandian said: “It is an admitted fact that the live wire snapped and was hanging in the pole… When the negligence is apparent on the face of the incident, we are of the view that it requires no further investigation.”

The High Court could very well determine compensation while allowing a writ petition if the factual materials, akin to negligence on the part of TNEB in the present case, required for adjudication of a particular issue was very much available on hand.

The Bench said that the single judge had rightly arrived at the quantum of compensation by determining the annual income of each of the accused at Rs.72,000 from agricultural operations as well as vending milk produced by their cows.

“It is common knowledge that at the time of the incident (October 25, 2003), even an agricultural labourer could have earned Rs.6,000 a month if he attended work regularly. Hence, there is nothing arbitrary even in respect of the quantum awarded,” the judgement read.

The parents of the claimants from Pudukottai had lost their lives while attempting to save one of their cows which also died of electrocution.

A writ petition filed in the year 2004 seeking compensation was allowed on February 13, 2008 and hence the present appeal.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu