T M KAMALANATHAN Vs. GOVERNMENT OF TAMIL NADU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) .This writ petition has been preferred for issue of a writ of Mandamus directing the first respondent to pay a sum of Rs.5 lakhs as compensation to the petitioner on account of the unfortunate death of his son by way of electrocution and to take both departmental and criminal action against respondents 2 to 6 for their negligence.

(2.) THE factual matrix necessary for the disposal of the writ petition are as under:-Petitioner's case:-THE petitioner is a tea shop owner and his shop is located at No.79, Azad Road, Thorappadi, Vellore about 100 metres away from his house. THE petitioner had one son and two daughters and he was maintaining the family with the meagre income derived from the tea shop. While so, the Tamil Nadu Noon Meals Employees State Conference was organised in Vellore under the leadership of Tmt.Indira Kumari, the then Minister for Social Welfare, Government of Tamil Nadu. All the preparatory and decorative works were started and carried out even ten days before the date of the convention. Since the Chief Minister was to be the Chief Guest of the said conference, organisers had arranged massive and festive decorations to felicitate her visit. THEy have put casuarina barricade on both sides of the road from Thorappadi to the venue of the conference at Vellore. THEy have also put up number of decorative arches, banners, paintings, boards, illuminary, flourecent and fancy decorative lights on both sides of the road. THE organisers have also put up tube lights on casuarina poles for every ten feet on both sides of the road covering the entire stretch of the road from Thorappadi to Vellore. Further they have also pasted decorative colour papers on thin iron ropes/wires and tied them with the casuarina poles. All the lights were put on from the morning itself on 6.12.1995 before the arrival of the then Chief Minister at Thorappadi by helicopter. Electricity supply for the lights were directly taken from the street lines and with the full connivance of the Government officials.

(3.) THE accident was an unexpected event in the family and the petitioner was not having any income for the maintenance of the family and he had faced untold suffering and hardship for mobilising money to meet out the expenses for post-mortem and funeral expenses for his son as well as for his medical treatment. With much difficulty the wife of the petitioner arranged money by taking loan on heavy interest. THE matter was reported to the police and a case in Crime No.1156 of 1995 was registered before the Vellore South Police Station at Bagayam Out Post. THE post-mortem report of the minor declared that the child died of cardiagenic shock due to electrocution. Similarly in the discharge summary issued to the petitioner by the Christian Medical College, it has been stated that the petitioner sustained electric burns while trying to rescue his eight years old son, who had caught in a live wire and the petitioner had sustained burns in his right hand, left arm, chest as well as in scapular region.