BAJRU KHADI Vs. ORISSA GRID CORPORATION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ONE Shiba Khadia and his wife Sushila having died of accidental electrocution, their dependents who are minors invoke the extraordinary jurisdiction of this Court to direct the Grid Corporation of Orissa (for short, 'the Grid Co.') for payment of compensation for loss of lives.

(2.) THE case of the petitioners is, on 30.11.1993 about 4.30 p.m. both husband and wife with the petitioners 2 and 3 were going from their Village Nuapada (a hamlet of Shankar Mouza) to the bus -stand to board a bus. While passing through the paddy field Shiba Khadia came in contact with a live 11 K.V. high tension electric wire and fell down. His wife, Sushila in order to save her husband suddenly caught hold of him, but she also died of the contact.

(3.) MR . B.M. Patnaik, learned Counsel for the petitioners though referred to several decisions but mainly relying on the decisions reported in the cases of Padma Behari Lal v. Orissa State Electricity Board and Anr. : AIR1992Ori68 ; Ramesh Kumar Nayak v. Union of India and Ors. : AIR1994Ori279 ; and Uttam Sahoo v. Chairman, O.S.E.B. 1996 (II) OLR 99, strenuously urged that the theory of res ipsa loquitur would aptly apply to the present case and the negligence on the part of the authorities being apparent, the petitioners are entitled to compensation to the extent of rupees six lakhs claimed by them. Mr. B.R. Sarangi, learned Counsel for the Grid Co. on the other hand strenuously urged that since the case of the high tension line falling down from its top conductor is on account of the same having come in contact with a bird, no negligence can be attributed to any of the functionaries of the Grid Co.