The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a plea seeking direction to Tamil Nadu government to grant higher compensation to the victims of the Kumbakonam fire tragedy on July 16, 2004.
A Bench of Justice Dalveer Bhandari and Justice Deepak Verma dismissed the writ petition filed by Kumbakonam Fire Tragedy Victims Association, observing that on the facts of this case nothing more could be done by the State government.
Justice Bhandari told the counsel for the petitioner that besides payment of compensation, the State had filed its response giving details and explaining the steps it had taken after the incident. When counsel said that only Rs. 1 lakh was paid in the case of death and Rs. 25,000 in the case of serious injuries and Rs. 10,000 for minor injuries as ex gratia payment, Justice Bhandari said “it is true no amount of compensation is adequate for life. But they [State] have done what they could have done.”
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The petitioner submitted that despite a finding by the inquiry commission that the fire was due to the negligence of the school staff and criminal insensitivity of the State Education department, only ex-gratia amounts had been paid to the victims and no compensation had been paid. It pointed out that no steps had been taken to rehabilitate the injured students and further no treatment like plastic/corrective surgery was provided to the injured.
The petitioner said the victims were not in a position to live a normal healthy life as they could not get moral/financial support from the government agencies at the appropriate time. The petitioner sought a direction to the respondents to grant adequate compensation with 12 per cent interest to the families of the victims.
In its response, Tamil Nadu said besides the compensation given by the State, the Centre also sanctioned Rs. 50,000 to the deceased and Rs. 10,000 to the injured. Further the State issued house sites pattas to 54 families, who were neither government servants nor in possession of own house. Textbooks and uniforms were supplied to the surviving children and bicycles burnt during the fire tragedy were replaced.
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A memorial at a cost of Rs. 30,50,000 had been erected with the inscription of names of the deceased children. The State government also provided the best treatment to the seriously injured. The State sought dismissal of the petition.