AMUTHAVALLI Vs. TAMIL NADU ELECTRICITY BOARD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner has filed the above writ petition praying to issue a Writ of Mandamus to direct the respondents to pay to the petitioner a sum of Rs. 1,00,000/- as compensation for the loss caused to the petitioner by the death of her son, Natarajan due to the negligence of the respondents.

(2.) TODAY when the matter is taken up for consideration in the presence of the learned counsel for the petitioner as well as the respondents, what comes to be known is that the petitioner is the resident of Nazarathpuram, St. Thomos Mount, Madras; that the electricity lines in Nazarathpuram area was in damaged state and in many places the power lines were hanging dangerously; that the Nazarathpuram Adi-Andhra Arundathi Welfare Association at St. Thomas Mount had repeatedly brought to the notice of the respondents the dangerous position of the electricity lines from 1991 onwards; that inspite of such notice to the respondents, no action was initiated to set right the lines; that consequently, on 22. 12. 1993 one Natarajan, the petitioner's son, while he was plying in the open space lying on the East of Ramar Temple, a live wire from the nearby lamp post suddenly fell on the said Natarajan and the child died by electrocution instantaneously; that the petitioner was subjected to mental agony and shock because of the untimely death of her son; that she has not recovered fully from the shock of the gruesome death of her son; that the death of the said Natarajan is wholly attributable to the total negligence of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board and the failure to maintain the electricity lines properly; that a lawyer' notice was issued to the respondents calling upon them to pay a sum of Rs. 1,00,000/- as compensation for the death of her son, Natarajan; that the respondents did not respond to such notice and hence the above Writ Petition seeking the relief extracted supra.

(3.) DURING arguments, learned counsel for the petitioner would submit that the son of the petitioner died of electrocution only due to the negligence on the part of the respondents in not maintaining electricity wire lines properly in spite of repeated requests to set right the wire lines that were hanging; that, had the respondents initiated action promptly in time, the death would not have occurred.