Claiming that the compensation fixed by the court appointed Commission for the victims of the Kumbakonam School fire tragedy is meagre and unreasonable, an association of the victims has approached the Madras High Court to enhance the award.
Justice K. Venkataraman Commission appointed by the court recently submitted its report fixing Rs. 5 lakh as compensation payable to each of the parents/ legal heirs of the deceased children.
It fixed Rs. 6 lakh as compensation to three children who sustained serious injuries and Rs. 50,000 to other injured.
Contending that the incident was violation of constitutional right to life, the victims sought the court to enhance the compensation to Rs. 25 lakh for the family of the dead children, Rs. 20 lakh to six seriously injured children, and Rs. 5 lakh to other injured children.
When the plea came up for hearing, the First Bench headed by Chief Justice S.K. Kaul said: “The petitioner is unwilling to accept the determination made by the commission and seeks enhancement. The obligation to pay the amount has been fixed on different authorities and private parties; hence a final decision cannot be made without hearing them.”
The Bench then granted the petitioner time to implead all the parties.
