RAVINDRA KUMAR Vs. THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard Mr. A.M. Ghare, learned Advocate for the applicant and Mr. M.J. Khan, learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the respondent. Admitted. With the consent of the learned counsel for parties, this Revision is heard finally at the stage of admission.

(2.) The applicant is one of the accused in Special Criminal Case No. 21/2008 pending before learned Special Judge appointed under the Electricity Act, 2003. The other accused in the case is one Mr. Shrikrishna Samadhan Rajas working with the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited. The applicant who is accused No. 1 in the said case, was one of the Directors of Nujividu Cotton Corporation Company. They had purchased the agricultural land, and one weighbridge was to be installed at the said agricultural land. Deceased-Saifullahkhan @ Fauzikhan s/o Lohishka, R/o Amravati was the owner and driver of Truck bearing No. MH 31-M 7326. The incident had occurred in the night intervening on 26th and 27th October, 2007 at the said agricultural land situated at Hiwarkhed. A weighbridge was transported from Akolato Hiwarkhed to the said site. The truck was parked under high-voltage tension electricity supply cable of MSEDCL. It appears that the weighbridge was to be unloaded in the morning. Since the truck reached the site at about 2.00 a.m. and there were no lights, it was parked at the said place as per the instructions of the Watchman on duty at the site. There were two labourers in the truck in which the weighbridge was transported from Akola to Hiwarkhed by the deceased Saifullahkhan @ Fauzikhan. It is the case of the prosecution that the weighbridge was touching the high-voltage cable above the said truck and that when the deceased Driver attempted to come out of the Driver's cabin, in the morning at about 8.00 a.m., he got electrocuted due to the touching of high-voltage cable to the weighing bridge loaded in the truck. He died on 1st February, 2007. The cause of death stated in the postmortem report is 'scepticemia due to electric shock injuries'.

(3.) The allegations against the applicant and the accused No. 2 are that they were negligent and that due to their negligence and rashness, the deceased had lost his life. The negligence attributed to the applicant is that he had started the work of installation of weighbridge on the site without getting the high-voltage line removed from the site. As far as accused No. 2 is concerned, it is alleged that he was negligent in his work and did not have proper supervision over the site from where the high voltage electricity supply cables were running.