Patna High Court
Bihar State Electricity Board vs Lacho Sah And Ors. on 9 September, 2002
Equivalent citations: 2004ACJ972
JUDGMENT Ravi S. Dhavan, C.J.
1. This court has heard this matter at length on more than one occasion.
2. The facts are short that one Lacho Sah filed a writ petition (CWJC No. 15781 of 2001) after his wife and daughter had been electrocuted. The relief he sought in the writ petition was, in effect, compensation and/or damages against the Bihar State Electricity Board.
3. The learned counsel for the Board has addressed the court on strict proof liability. Insofar as the court is concerned, it is faced with a situation on which there is no issue that the death of two persons has occurred by electrocution. The court has awarded total damages amounting to Rs. 2,50,000; Rs. 1,50,000 is to mitigate the hardship on the death of Lacho Sah's wife and Rs. 1,00,000 on the death of his daughter. If the court were to vary the amount of compensation, it would be an exercise in mediocrity.
4. Once the principle is accepted that damages could be granted when death has taken place by negligence or otherwise, then the court is not going into the aspect of strict proof liability. The issue is not that those who died were negligent. But between the accident and Bihar State Electricity Board there is a cause and causal. There was a duty to take care that an accident could not happen.
5. The last contention of learned counsel for the Board is that this matter may not become a precedent, should there be any other case. The court can hardly read the future. But it is understood that each case will be examined upon its facts and circumstances.
6. In the circumstances, the court is not inclined to interfere with the order of the learned Judge dated 15.5.2002 on the writ petition and take another view on it when the one taken is not incorrect.
7. Dismissed.