Punjab & Haryana HC awards compensation of Rs 4 lakh to kin of man who died after tree fell on his auto-rickshaw

The bid further said that the interim compensation shall beryllium disbursed to the petitioners wrong a play of 2 months of the day of receipt of certified transcript of this order, failing which the petitioners shall beryllium entitled to involvement astatine 6 per cent per annum connected the magnitude from the day of filing of the petition.

The precocious tribunal meantime clarified that the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation volition nevertheless beryllium entitled to question a set-off of main retired of the interim compensation from the magnitude yet awarded, but determination shall beryllium nary betterment successful lawsuit the compensation assessed by the tribunal is little than the interim compensation ordered.

The bid was passed connected a petition filed by Usha and her children, seeking Rs 25 lakh compensation connected relationship of decease of her husband, Naresh Kumar, owed to what they regarded arsenic negligence connected the portion of the municipal corp (MC).

The petition said that Kumar, 53, was lasting extracurricular Government School, Sector-37, Chandigarh, waiting for the students/children helium utilized to prime and driblet disconnected from their homes to the schoolhouse and vice versa. On July 11, 2019, betwixt 1.30 p.m. to 2 pm, erstwhile the auto-rickshaw operator was waiting for children successful beforehand of schoolhouse successful his three-wheeler, a histrion fell down upon his auto, owed to which helium suffered injuries connected his head. He was instantly taken to Government Multi Speciality Hospital, Sector 16, Chandigarh. As his information was serious, helium was referred to the PGIMER, Chandigarh, but connected reaching, helium was declared dormant connected arrival.

Kumar’s woman submitted that her hubby died owed to “untoward incidental and without immoderate negligence connected his portion and solely owed to negligence of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation”.

Usha further claimed the MC has galore functions to execute nether the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976 but they person failed to bash their duties. She referred to Section 45 (d) of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976, nether which the planting and attraction of trees connected roadside and elsewhere comes wrong the ambit and functions of the corporation. However, “due to the mediocre maintenance” successful the upkeep of the metropolis and “lack of care, pruning and attraction of trees”, the incidental has occurred, the petition claimed.

The Chandigarh civic body, successful its reply, denied immoderate deficiency successful its service. The MC counsel besides submitted that a subdivision of eucalyptus tree, which is stated to person fallen, astatine the champion could beryllium termed arsenic an “unexpected earthy calamity oregon an enactment of God”, which could not beryllium foreseen by anyone.

The seat of Justice Vinod S Bhardwaj, portion citing a judgement of the Supreme Court successful the lawsuit of ‘Sanjay Gupta and others versus authorities of Uttar Pradesh and others’, held that “a writ tribunal whitethorn grant compensation to a idiosyncratic aggrieved and against the wrongdoer, connected relationship of breach of its nationalist duty, successful summation to the autarkic close of the aggrieved enactment to assertion compensation nether the backstage instrumentality successful a civilian enactment based connected tort”.

The precocious tribunal noted that the MC Chandigarh has failed to found that the trees had been pruned decently and branches apt to origin information to the beingness and spot had been removed, frankincense contributing successful the occurrence owed to a prima facie lapse.