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6 T.M.R., J The 1st plaintiff is examined as PW.1. PW.2 (G. Maddileti) and PW.3 (Gajjala Sunkaiah) belong to the plaintiff's village. P.W.s 2, 3 and the deceased worked as private electricians. Their testimonies reveal that since two days leading up to on 23.07.2000, PWs.2, 3 and deceased were involved in the electrical work of installing a 11 K.V Transformer in the fields of Kampamalla village, located half a kilometer away from their village; they were employed on a daily wage basis by a helper named Azeem; the work involved converting an existing Lower Tension (L.T.) power line, which had been operational since 1970, to a Higher Tension (H.T.) power line with an 11 K.V capacity. The conversion of the power line and the installation of the new transformer had begun two days prior to July 23, 2000. The new transformer was intended to be used by local farmers to irrigate their lands using pump sets. On the fateful day, the deceased, along with PWs.2 and 3, were engaged by the Department through Azeem to install the new transformer and connect the ex-fuse wire to it; they were actively engaged in this task; Azeem, after assigning the work to them, went into Kampamalla village and did not return to the work site to supervise their progress; around 12:30 PM, while the deceased was in the process of connecting the ex-fuse wire to the new transformer, power was released from the Koilakuntla sub-station; the deceased, still working, was electrocuted and lost his life on the spot at approximately 12:45 PM.

14. DW.2 C.Venkateswara Rao, who worked as Assistant Engineer, Koilakuntla, at the relevant time of incident, also testified in the same lines as deposed by DW.1. He further testified that Kampamalla line was converted long back, and the transformer referred to by the plaintiffs was erected long back; the work of conversion of L.T to H.T done by the contractor; the conversion of line work will be done under the contract system and the department officials do not do the said works.

15. During cross-examination of DW.2, it was revealed that he had informed the police about the electrocution death of Naganna. However, he was unaware of any complaint made by Gajjala Seshaiah, as claimed by DW.1, the Assistant Lineman. DW.1 mentioned that the police had filed a charge sheet against him, which ultimately resulted in his acquittal. Ex.A.5, a certified copy of the First Information Report (F.I.R.), contained the details of Naganna's death due to electrocution. DW.1 8 T.M.R., J also confirmed that an inquest was conducted on Naganna's body. According to Ex.A.2 (a copy of the charge sheet), it was alleged that on July 23, 2000, DW.1, along with the deceased Naganna, Gajjala Sunkaiah (PW.3), and Gudipatipalli Maddileti (PW.2), attended to a transformer in Kampamalla village. At around 12:30 PM, DW.1 provided the ex-fuse wire to Naganna, while PWs.1 and 2 left the site to go into Kampamalla village. After their departure, at 1:00 PM, DW.1, who was in Kampamalla village, negligently requested the power office in Koilakuntla to release power supply to the Kampamalla line. As a result of this, when the power supply was restored, Naganna, who was still working on the transformer, suffered an electric shock, fell from the transformer, and tragically lost his life on the spot.