HARINDER KAUR Vs. ADD DISTRICT AND SESSIONS JUDGE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has preferred the present writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India to claim exemplary compensation from the respondents of Rs. 10 lacs on account of her suffering permanent injuries due to their negligence and failure to fulfill their duty of care owed to the petitioner. The petitioner also claims an amount of Rs. 11,52,000/- towards expenses of her personal attendant that she would have to employ for the rest of her life; Rs. 15,000/- p.a. to meet her medical expenses, conveyance etc., and; compensation on account of loss of earning. Petitioner also claims litigation expenses of Rs. 50,000/- from the said respondents.

(2.) The case of the petitioner is that she had gone to Rohini Court Complex on 26.05.2008 to attend her case arising from her matrimonial dispute with her husband. All of a sudden, the District Court Sign Board with the inscription "District Court Rohini", written both in English and Hindi, fell on her head from the top of the Court building. She was instantly taken to Bhagwan Mahavir Hospital, Delhi? in drowsy and disoriented state. Various diagnostic tests were performed on her. She was shifted to Park Hospital, New Delhi? where further tests such as MRI of the Brain were performed. These tests established the extent of internal injury suffered by the petitioner. Thereafter, she was shifted to Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, New Delhi?. An FIR was registered at Police Post Rohini Court by the SHO, Prashant Vihar Police Station vide FIR No. 318 on 26.05.2008 under Section 337 IPC against unknown persons. The petitioner has placed on record the copy of the FIR dated 26.05.2008. She has also filed the MLC recorded at Bhagwan Mahavir Hospital.

(3.) The FIR, inter alia, records that it was telephonically informed that near Rohini Court one sign board had fallen on a lady. The sign board was found in a totally broken condition on the ground, which was fastened at the 5 th Floor of the Court building. Upon reaching Bhagwan Mahavir Hospital at Madhuban Chowk, the injured, i.e., the petitioner was found in a condition wherein she could not be questioned. The time of occurrence recorded in the FIR is 09.30 am on 26.05.2008. The place of occurrence recorded is Main Hall, Rohini Court Complex near Gate No.1. The MLC recorded at Bhagwan Mahavir Hospital, inter alia, states