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Synopsis

The Madras High Court recently held a father whose son died due to electrocution while on a temple pilgrimage entitled to compensation of Rs.25,00,000.

The bench of Justice GR Swaminathan held that the deceased had died entirely due to the negligence on the part of the concerned authorities, therefore, to compensate his father was the responsibility of the District Administration as well the local body.

While taking note of the fact that the State Government had already announced an ex gratia payment of Rs.100000 to the deceased's father, the single judge bench redetermined the compensation amount. 

It pointed out that not only the deceased had great scores in his 10th and 12th standards, but he had also passed with very good grades out of Jeppiaar Engineering College, Chennai which is a well-known institution with a B.E degree.

Therefore, stressing that the deceased definitely had a very bright future, and the family had really suffered a severe consequence of the incident as the deceased's mother had also died of a heart attack, court, therefore, held that even by a very conservative estimate, the deceased's father was entitled to compensation of Rs.25 lakhs.

Court ordered the Secretary to Government, Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department, Government of Tamil Nadu, Chennai to pay the said amount to the deceased's father within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of the court order.

The order was passed in a plea filed by one Swamiji seeking compensation of Rs 50 lakhs for death of his son. He submitted that his son Angappan @ Vignesh went to Thiruvannamalai along with his friends to circumambulate the hill of Arunachala (Girivalam) on May 14, 2014 on a full moon day. 

The petitioner informed that at around 10:45 pm when his son was performing girivalam, a hoarding installed on the roadside fell on him and his friends. The petitioner's son suffered grievous injuries. He was then rushed to the medical camp that had been organised by the Arulmigu Arunachaleswarar Thirukovil temple. However, there was electricity leakage at the medical camp and when the petitioner's son happened to touch one of the pillars of the tent, he suffered electrocution He was then rushed to Government Hospital but died en route. 

The single judge bench carefully considered the rival contentions and went through the materials on record. It opined that although the fall of the hoarding could not be considered a proximate cause for the petitioner's son's death, it was the duty of the local body to ensure that the hoardings were installed properly.

"I take judicial notice of the fact that quite a few fatalities have occurred on account of the unsafe installation of hoardings in Tamil Nadu," the bench noted in the order. 

It highlighted that Thiruvannamalai is a renowned pilgrim centre and every full moon day, lakhs of devotees visit it.

"The statutory scheme set out in the Tamil Nadu District Municipalities Act, 1920 casts obligation on the part of the local body to make appropriate arrangements for the well-being of the devotees. The Municipality cannot remain content with collection of license fees and tolls," the bench underscored. 

Court referred to the ruling of the Supreme Court in Sarika vs. Shri Mahakaleshwar Mandir Committee (2018) where the top court had held that when there is a large number of a gathering of persons every day and in particular during melas and other festival times, the State has the obligation to provide the basic amenities to the pilgrims. It is the bounden duty of the government to make proper arrangement to provide shelter places, for maintenance of law and order and to sanction the amount without fear of violation of the concept of secularism.

In view of the ratio laid down above, the single judge bench held that the District Administration as well as the local body are responsible for ensuring the safety of the pilgrims and devotees.

"The authorities ought to foresee that there will be some unfortunate occurrence and that therefore proper arrangements should be in place. It was their duty to have ensured that in the medical camp, foolproof, safety arrangements had been made. Medical camp must have facilities to save the patients," said the bench. 

Case Title: Swamiji v. The Chief Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu and Others