The Madras High Court bench here has sought a report from the officials on the number of Sivakasi blast victims undergoing medical treatment.
A division bench comprising Justices S.Rajeswaran and T.Mathivanan directed the officials from the Virudhunagar district administration to submit their report to the court. The court also sought information on the nature of injuries sustained by M.Arumugam, one of the victims, and the treatment he was being given. The judges instructed the officials to provide Rs.25,000 as an interim compensation to Mr.Arumugam before the next hearing.
The bench issued the directions while hearing the case of Mr.Arumugam’s father G.Murugesan, seeking Rs.15,000 for treatment at the Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) in Madurai or at any private hospital.
According to the petitioner, his son entered Om Sakthi Fireworks following the blasts in order to help the stranded employees. But he sustained severe injuries in the second explosion in the factory and lost both his limbs, he claimed.
Mr.Arumugam was admitted at the Government Hospital in Sivakasi for treatment and was shifted to the GRH for better treatment, the petitioner said.
He alleged that the GRH discharged his son when his condition had not improved.
Mr. Murugesan’s counsel W. Peter Rameshkumar alleged that the GRH authorities insisted on Mr. Arumugam’s discharge, fearing that he would succumb at the hospital and increase the death toll in the mishap.
“The State government had announced that the injured in the accident will get a compensation of Rs. 2 lakh. Arumugam’s medical expenditure so far amounts to Rs. 3.5 lakh. We have not received any compensation from the government till date,” the counsel said.
The petitioner’s representation to the officials seeking compensation for his son went unanswered, prompting him to move the court, he added.
The bench also heard a public interest litigation filed by S.M. Anantha Murugan, an advocate, seeking a probe by a retired judge into the cause of the explosions in the factory. The families of the deceased should be given Rs. 30 lakh as compensation and the injured Rs. 7 lakh, he pleaded.
The judges directed the Assistant Solicitor General to appear at the court on Wednesday. The cases have been posted to Wednesday for further hearing.
