T.N. govt. told to pay ₹50,000 to girl who suffered electrocution at school
A live wire fell on the Class V student, inflicting injuries on her
22/08/2019, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,CHENNAI
The State Human Rights Commission has ordered the Tamil Nadu government to pay ₹50,000 as compensation to the father of a girl who sustained injuries after an electric cable that was damaged and hanging fell on her at the V. Kallipalayam Panchayat Union Primary School in Tiruppur district.
The case was filed by K.V.S. Manikumar, whose daughter, a Class V student, sustained injuries from an electric shock while heading to a toilet on the school premises.
Mr. Manikumar submitted that on July 16, 2018, his daughter had gone to the back side of the school near the compound wall when a live wire fell on her, inflicting injuries from electrocution on her. On hearing her cries, a teacher rushed to the spot and saved her life. The girl was given medical treatment. “She received treatment as an inpatient from July 16, 2018 to July 23, 2018 and was also referred to the Government Hospital, Coimbatore, for further management of a neurological problem,” he said in his petition.
Mr. Manikumar claimed that the sub-inspector of Kamanaickenpalayam, Amal Arockia Dass, failed to register an FIR and treated the case as just a CSR. He said the Assistant Engineer (Operations & Maintenance), Tangedco, Palladam Electricity Distribution Circle, K.V. Sathyanarayanan, had “miserably failed to maintain the live wire in a proper manner, and the incident took place due to the negligence of the 2nd Respondent and not by the act of God. Therefore, the Respondents had violated the human rights of the victim girl”.
‘Act of God’
The respondents submitted that the school headmaster had no direct nexus with the incident. And, the electric wire was damaged “due to no man’s fault and the damaged live wire was hanging near the rear side of the compound wall and toilet of the school. The current supply was automatically disrupted”.
The respondents also sought to blame the girl, saying she had come out of the class “without knowing the incident and without knowing the instruction from the teachers, entered the said place and came in contact with the damage(d) wire and sustained simply (sic) injury on her left hand”. They submitted that the incident was down to an act of God, and the respondents were in no way connected to the incident.
After hearing the arguments, SHRC member D. Jayachandran held that had the Assistant Engineer maintained the live wire in a proper manner in accordance with the Electricity Act, the incident could have been avoided. “Therefore, the incident took place due to the negligence of the second respondent (K.V. Sathyanarayanan) only,” he said, holding that the officer had violated the girl’s human rights. While dismissing the charges against the headmaster of the school and the sub-inspector, the Commission ordered that a compensation of ₹50,000 be paid by the Tamil Nadu government. “This Commission further recommends that the Government of Tamil Nadu should give suitable instructions to Tangedco to be vigilant in the matter of maintenance of electric lines in accordance with the Electricity Act, 1935 and the Electricity Rules,” the order read.
A live wire fell on the Class V student, inflicting injuries on her
22/08/2019, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,CHENNAI
The State Human Rights Commission has ordered the Tamil Nadu government to pay ₹50,000 as compensation to the father of a girl who sustained injuries after an electric cable that was damaged and hanging fell on her at the V. Kallipalayam Panchayat Union Primary School in Tiruppur district.
The case was filed by K.V.S. Manikumar, whose daughter, a Class V student, sustained injuries from an electric shock while heading to a toilet on the school premises.
Mr. Manikumar submitted that on July 16, 2018, his daughter had gone to the back side of the school near the compound wall when a live wire fell on her, inflicting injuries from electrocution on her. On hearing her cries, a teacher rushed to the spot and saved her life. The girl was given medical treatment. “She received treatment as an inpatient from July 16, 2018 to July 23, 2018 and was also referred to the Government Hospital, Coimbatore, for further management of a neurological problem,” he said in his petition.
Mr. Manikumar claimed that the sub-inspector of Kamanaickenpalayam, Amal Arockia Dass, failed to register an FIR and treated the case as just a CSR. He said the Assistant Engineer (Operations & Maintenance), Tangedco, Palladam Electricity Distribution Circle, K.V. Sathyanarayanan, had “miserably failed to maintain the live wire in a proper manner, and the incident took place due to the negligence of the 2nd Respondent and not by the act of God. Therefore, the Respondents had violated the human rights of the victim girl”.
‘Act of God’
The respondents submitted that the school headmaster had no direct nexus with the incident. And, the electric wire was damaged “due to no man’s fault and the damaged live wire was hanging near the rear side of the compound wall and toilet of the school. The current supply was automatically disrupted”.
The respondents also sought to blame the girl, saying she had come out of the class “without knowing the incident and without knowing the instruction from the teachers, entered the said place and came in contact with the damage(d) wire and sustained simply (sic) injury on her left hand”. They submitted that the incident was down to an act of God, and the respondents were in no way connected to the incident.
After hearing the arguments, SHRC member D. Jayachandran held that had the Assistant Engineer maintained the live wire in a proper manner in accordance with the Electricity Act, the incident could have been avoided. “Therefore, the incident took place due to the negligence of the second respondent (K.V. Sathyanarayanan) only,” he said, holding that the officer had violated the girl’s human rights. While dismissing the charges against the headmaster of the school and the sub-inspector, the Commission ordered that a compensation of ₹50,000 be paid by the Tamil Nadu government. “This Commission further recommends that the Government of Tamil Nadu should give suitable instructions to Tangedco to be vigilant in the matter of maintenance of electric lines in accordance with the Electricity Act, 1935 and the Electricity Rules,” the order read.
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