Condemning the attitude of TNEB and Tangedco officials for failing to file a counter affidavit on a petition that sought compensation, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court directed them to pay ₹5 lakh as compensation to the family of a boy who was electrocuted.
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The court was hearing the petition filed by T. Muthu of Madurai, whose 13-year-old son, M.S. Manoj Kumar, was electrocuted as he touched an electric pole while crossing a lane during rain in 2017. The family sought compensation from authorities, claiming that the death was due to their negligence. The authorities submitted that electricity passed to the pole due to rain and that the boy died due to the ‘act of God’.
Justice C.V. Karthikeyan expressed strong condemnation after the Chairman and Managing Director of TNEB, CMD of Tangedco and the Superintending Engineer, Tangedco, Madurai, failed to file their counter affidavits.
“May be, since they are holding the posts of Chairman and Managing Director of TNEB and Tangedco and Superintending Engineer, they are of the opinion that it is below their dignity to put their thoughts in writing with respect to a claim seeking compensation for the death of a young boy of 13 years over whom they are not directly bothered,” the judge observed.
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‘No sense of duty’
They appeared to have no sense of duty either to a citizen or to this court and this court could state that the officials had lost their right or authority to continue in their particular offices. As public servants, they had a duty to discharge to every citizen of the country. They might deny the contentions raised in the petition, but they could not hide behind a counter filed by the Assistant Engineer, Karuppayoorani, Madurai, the judge said.
Here, the facts were very clear. The boy died of electrocution on touching the electric pole. Negligence was apparent on the face of the records, the judge said. The authorities agreed to pay the compensation amount.