KERALA STATE ELECTRICITY BOARD Vs. PUZHADIKKAL KADHEEJA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) DEFENDANTS in a suit for damages for loss of life as a result of an electricity accident are the appellants. The licensee, Kerala State Electricity Board, pleaded before the court below that the death was beyond its control and was the result of heavy rain and wind, whereby leaves of the coconut tree had fallen over the electric line. Such defence does not stand on the face of the doctrine of strict liability which will apply to such instances as laid down by the Apex Court and this Court in W.B. SEB v. Sachin Banerjee[ : (1999) 9 SCC 21], M.P. Electricity Board v. Shail Kumari[ : (2002) 2 SCC 162] and Varghese and another v. K.S.E.B.( : ILR 2013 (2) Ker. 99].

(2.) THE deceased son of the respondents was 19 years old at the time of electrocution on 15.04.2002. The plaintiffs had pleaded that he was doing business and was on his way back to home after closing the shop. The court below applied the relevant yardsticks, including multiplier in the light of the dictum in KSEB v. Kamalakshmi Amma(1986 KLT 1124) and fixed compensation totalling to Rs. 1,92,000/ - and ultimately granted relief of recovery by adding Rs. 5,000/ - towards funeral expenses and deducting the amounts already paid by the KSEB before the suit.

(3.) WE , however, see that the plaintiffs had partly lost before the court below as regards the quantum of compensation. We are of the view that having regard to the marginalized sector to which the plaintiffs and their son belong and having regard to the nature of the litigation, the plaintiffs are entitled to an order that they need not pay any amount as court fee on the plaint claim.