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Synopsis

The Supreme Court has quashed an FIR and a charge sheet filed against a Belgian national for causing death of 13 persons.

The man organised a forest expedition, during which a forest fire took place in 2018 in Tamil Nadu. Court said that it was an instance of vis major (superior force) or act of God & he could not be held responsible for their death.

The appellant faced charges as under Sections 304 A and 338 IPC, which deal with causing death by negligence and causing grievous hurt by an act endangering life or personal safety of others respectively.

"We fail to understand as to how these Sections could have been invoked against the appellant herein inasmuch as admittedly the persons who were part of the trekking expedition died owing to a forest fire which is an instance of vis major," a bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Augustine George Masih said.

 

The court allowed an appeal filed by Peter Van Geit, a Belgian national running an NGO, against the Madras High Court's order which had dismissed his plea to quash the FIR lodged in Theni district.

 

"No negligence could have been attributed to the appellant herein who only facilitated the organisation of the trekking expedition. The organisers as well as the appellant were unaware of the forest fire as such," the bench said.

 

"Accidentally they were engulfed in the forest fire and they died by sheer accident and not owing to any negligence or any criminal intent attributable to the appellant herein. The appellant herein had no role whatsoever in causing the death of the trekkers who died due to a forest fire which is a natural cause," the bench added.

 

The court concluded that the invocation of Sections 304 A and 338 IPC as against the appellant was "wholly unwarranted". The High Court ought to have quashed the FIR, the charge sheet as well as proceedings in the case.

 

The court relied upon Bhajan Lal Vs State of Haryana (1992) to set aside the High Court's order and quashed the FIR and the proceedings against the appellant.

 

The FIR in the case was filed on March 12, 2018 with regard to death of 13 people in a forest fire that occurred on March 11, 2018. The appellant herein being the head of a Non-profit Organization (NGO) was in-charge of facilitating persons interested in trekking. He ran a trek club called ‘Chennai Trekking Club’ with the main object to organise special trekking expeditions.

 

In his plea, the appellant contended that the very invocation of the provisions was bad in law inasmuch as no overt criminal act as against him has been found and his role was only in facilitating the trekking expedition through a tour agency namely ‘Tour de India Holiday’ in Thindal, District Erode.

 

He contended there was no negligence on the part of the appellant and the death of the trekkers in the unfortunate accident was owing to a vis major inasmuch as the trekkers died in the forest fire which engulfed the area of the expedition on the fateful day.