Smt.Asha W/o late Boraiah filed a consumer case on 03 Nov 2018 against The Executive Engineer,O & M Sub-Division,Bescom in the Chitradurga Consumer Court. The case no is CC/132/2018 and the judgment uploaded on 04 Dec 2018.
COMPLAINT FILED ON:03/07/2018
DISPOSED ON:03/11/2018
BEFORE THE DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL FORUM, CHITRADURGA.
C.C.NO:132/2018
DATED: 3rd NOVEMBER 2018
PRESENT: - SRI. T.N. SREENIVASAIAH : PRESIDENT B.A., LL.B.,
SMT. JYOTHI RADHESH JEMBAGI
BSc.,MBA., DHA., : LADY MEMBER
……COMPLAINANT/S | 1. Smt. Asha W/o Late Boraiah Aged about 31 years, 2. Bosaiah S/o Late Boraiah, Aged about 8 years,Minor, 3. Niveditha D/o Late Boraih,aged about05 years,
The Complainant 2 and 3 are Minors Represented by their Natural Mother 1st Complainant as their Natural Guardian
3. Smt. Kyasamma W/o Late Chinnaobiah Aged about 60 years, The Complainant 1 to 4 are R/o Kodagavallihatty Village, Kodavalli post, B.Durga Hobli, Holalkere Taluk.
(Reptd., By Sri. R. Lokeshwarappa, Advocate) |
V/S | |
…..OPPOSITE PARTIES | 1. The Executive Engineer, O &M Sub Division, BESCOM, Chitradurga. 2. The Assistant Executive engineer, O & M Sub-Division, BESCOM, Holalkere, Chitradurga. 3. The Section Officer, O & M Subdivision, BESCOM,Malladihally, Holalkere Taluk
(Reptd., By Sri.M. Umesh, Advocate) |
ORDER
SRI. T.N. SREENIVASAIAH: PRESIDENT
The above complaint has been filed by the complainant u/Sec.12 of the C.P Act, 1986 for the relief to direct the OPs to pay Rs.15,00,000/- towards compensation with interest @ 12% p.a from the date of incident, Rs.1,00,000/- towards sufferings and costs and such other reliefs.
2. The brief facts of the case of the above complainant is that, complainant No.1 is the wife and complainant No.2 and 3 are the minor son and daughter and complainant No.4 is the mother of deceased Boraiah @ Borappa. During his life time, he was living along with the complainants jointly under the common roof with great love and affection and doing agricultural work having cow and buffalos and earning income from agricultural work and by producing milk from the cattle. The deceased Boraiah @ Borappa is the only earning member of his family and the complainants are entirely depending upon the earnings of said deceased. The said Boraiah @ Borappa had an agricultural land to the extent of 2-acres 20-guntas situated at Kodagavalli village of Holalkere Taluk. It is further submitted that, on 15.09.2016 in the evening he went for bring jawar grass bundle and kept the same on his head and moving towards his house and on the way to move his house, he came in contact with the electric live wire which was fallen just above six feet from the earth and thrown him away and caused death due to electrocution. On the next day at about 7-00 A.M, the villagers namely Gopalappa, Manjunatha and Palaiah were saw the dead body which was lying on the said land and they informed about his death to the complainants. Thereafter, the complainants rushed to the field and saw that, the said Boraiah was died due to electric shock and lodged a complaint on 16.09.2016 at about 9-30 A.M. In pursuance of the said complaint, the Chickkajajur Police along with panchas have visited to the spot and drawn mahazar and also recorded the statements of complainants and others. The said Police have registered a FIR under Crime No.UDR No.18/2016 u/Sec.174 of Cr.P.C and conducted inquest mahazar and submitted final report No.27/2016 on 15.12.2016. The Chikkajajur Medical Officer had conducted the P.M report on 16.09.2016 at about 10-30 A.M and the Doctor opined that, the death is due to electrocution and the wound was present over the left hand first web face, exists through eyes. The incident was occurred due to negligence in maintaining the electric live wire. The deceased Boraiah was the only earning member of his family and was earning Rs.3,00,000/- p.a from his agricultural work and Rs.500/- per day from the Coolie work and the entire amount were handed over to his wife daily for maintenance of his family. After the death of Boraiah, his entire family is thrown into street and are facing financial crisis, loss of earnings and it is too difficult to lead their life and they are suffering from great mental shock, agony, pain. After the PM, the dead body was handed over to the complainants and they performed the ceremonies as per their rituals and customs prevailed in their community by spending Rs.50,000/-. Thereafter, the complainants intimated about the incident and demanded to pay compensation, but the OPs have not taken any steps in this regard. The deceased Boraiah @ Borappa had obtained electrical connection to his house from the OPs and was paying electrical bill and therefore, he is a consumer under the OPs. The OPs have not taken any precautionary measures in maintaining the electrical live wires to safeguard the life of the public, thereby committed deficiency in rendering their service and therefore, the OPs are liable to pay compensation of Rs.15,00,000/-. The deceased Boraiah was doing agricultural and coolie works aged about 35 yearsalong with interest @ 12% p.a. The cause action for this complaint arose on 16.09.2016 when the complainant No.1 has lodged a complaint and the OPs have failed to pay the compensation to the complainants which is within the jurisdiction of this Forum and prayed for allow the complaint.
3. After service of notice, OPs appeared through Sri. M. Umesh, Advocate and filed version. According to the version filed by OPs that, all the averments made in para 4 to 9 are denied as false. On the contrary, the OPs have always took the safety measures in their services and hence, the question of deficiency in service does not arise and there was a self negligence on the part of deceased Boraiah. The alleged incident took place by the self negligence on the part of deceased and it amounts to voluenti non-fit injuria. The OPs authorities have made all the procedures and as per the correspondence and procedures the OPs and the report of the Deputy Electrical Inspectorate reveals that, there is no deficiency in service on the part of OPs and this Forum has no jurisdiction to deal this matter The deceased himself was negligent and due to his own negligence, the said incident took place and hence, prays for dismissal of the complaint.
4. The complainant No.1has examined as PW-1 by filing affidavit evidence and the documents Ex.A-1 to A-10 were got marked and closed their side. On behalf of OPs, one Sri.C. Basavaraja, the Assistant Engineer has examined as DW-1 by filing their respective affidavits and no documents have been got marked and closed their side.
5. Arguments heard.
6. Now the points that arise for our consideration for decision of above complaints are that;
(2) What order?
7. Our findings on the above points are as follows:-
Point No.1:- Partly in affirmative.
Point No.2:- As per final order.
REASONS
8. Point No.1:-It is not in dispute that, the complainants are the LRs of deceased Boraiah @ Borappa. On 15.09.2016 in the evening the said Boraiah after cutting the jawar gross bundle kept the same on his head and on the way to reach his house, the electric live wire which was lying above six feet from the earth came in contact and he died at the spot. On the next day i.e., on 16.09.2016 in the morning at about 7-00 AM, the villagers namely Gopalappa, Manjunatha and Palaiah saw the dead body and intimated the same to complainants. Thereafter, the complainants rushed to the field and saw that, the said Boraiah was died due to electric shock and lodged a complaint on 16.09.2016 at about 9-30 A.M before the Chickkajajur Police. The said Police have visited to the spot and drawn mahazar. The said Police have registered a FIR under Crime No.UDR No.18/2016 u/Sec.174 of Cr.P.C and conducted inquest mahazar and submitted final report No.27/2016 on 15.12.2016. The Chikkajajur Medical Officer had conducted the P.M report on 16.09.2016 at about 10-30 A.M and the Doctor opined that, the death is due to electrocution. The incident was occurred due to negligence in maintaining the electric live wire. The deceased Boraiah was the only earning member of his family and after the death of Boraiah, his entire family is thrown into street and are facing financial crisis, loss of earnings and it is too difficult to lead their life. The complainants performed the ceremonies as per their rituals and customs prevailed in their community by spending Rs.50,000/-. Thereafter, the complainants intimated about the incident to the OPs and demanded to pay compensation, but they failed to pay compensation. The OPs have not taken any precautionary measures in maintaining the electrical live wires to safeguard the life of the public, which is a deficiency in rendering their service.
9. We have gone through the entire documents filed by the complainants and OPs which shows that, the deceased Boraiah @ Borappa was doing coolie work and he was earning Rs.500/- per day. The entire family is depending on the income of deceased. After his death, his family came to street. The documents produced by the complainants clearly goes to show that, the deceased Boraiah @ Borappa was died due to electrocution. The OPs have taken a contention that, the complaint is not maintainable and this Forum has no jurisdiction to entertain this complaint as there is no deficiency in service on the part of OPs. When there is an electric connection, the duty of the OPs is to take precautionary measures to safeguard the public. Here, they failed to do the same and failed to disprove the case of the complainants that, they have taken precautionary measures. Ex.A-1 to 10 i.e., FIR, spot mahazar, inquest mahazar etc., clearly shows that, there is a deficiency in service on the part of OPs. Due to the negligence on the part of OPs, the said Boraiah @ Borappa was died due to electrocution. Ex.A1 shows that, “ ¢£ÁAPÀ 15.09.2016 gÀAzÀÄ ¸ÀAeÉ 5-00 WÀAmÉ ¸ÀªÀÄAiÀÄzÀ°è ªÀÄÈvÀ ¨ÉÆÃgÀAiÀÄå ºÉÆ®¢AzÀ ªÀÄ£ÉUÉ §AzÀÄ JvÀÄÛUÀ¼À£ÀÄß PÀnÖ ºÁQ ªÀÄPÀ̼ÉÆA¢UÉ DlªÁr d«Ää£À ºÀwÛgÀ ºÉÆÃV ºÀÄ®è£ÀÄß vÀgÀÄvÉÛÃ£É JAzÀÄ ºÉÆÃzÀªÀgÀÄ ¸ÀAeÉAiÀiÁzÀgÀÆ ªÀÄ£ÉUÉ §gÀ°®è. DUÀ ¦AiÀiÁð¢ vÀ£Àß ªÀiÁªÀ£ÀªÀgÀ ºÀwÛgÀ ªÀÄvÀÄÛ ¸ÀA§A¢üPÀgÀÄUÀ¼À ªÀÄ£ÉAiÀÄ°è ºÉÆÃV «ZÁgÀ ªÀiÁrzÁUÀ J°èAiÀÄÆ §A¢gÀĪÀÅ¢®è. DUÀ ¨É¼ÀUÉÎ 7-00 WÀAmÉUÉ £ÀªÀÄä ¸ÀA§A¢üPÀgÀÄ ºÉÆ®PÉÌ ºÉÆÃV £ÉÆÃrzÁUÀ ºÀÄ®è£ÀÄß PÉÆAiÀÄÄÝPÉÆAqÀÄ ºÉÆgÉAiÀÄ£ÀÄß vÀ¯É ªÉÄÃ¯É ºÉÆvÀÄÛPÉÆAqÀÄ ªÀÄ£ÉUÉ §gÀÄwÛgÀĪÁUÀ d«Ää£À¯Éè PÀgÉAmï PÀA§¢AzÀ §A¢gÀĪÀ ªÉÄÊ£ïì ªÉÊgï DPÀ¹äPÀªÁV ºÉÆvÀÄÛPÉÆAqÀÄ §gÀÄwÛzÀÝ ºÉÆgÉUÉ vÀUÀÄ°zÁUÀ ¸ÀzÀj ªÉÊgÀ£ÀÄß PÉʬÄAzÀ JwÛzÁUÀ DPÀ¹äPÀªÁV PÀgÉAmï ºÉÆqÉzÀÄ PɼÀUÉ ©zÀÄÝ ªÀÄÈvÀ¥ÀnÖgÀÄvÁÛ£É «£À: ¨ÉÃgÉ AiÀiÁgÀ ªÉÄÃ®Æ C£ÀĪÀiÁ£À EgÀĪÀÅ¢®è ”. The said document itself supports the case of complainants showing that, the death is due to electrocution. The Doctor has given his opinion in Ex.A-4 i.e., Post mortem report that “the above death was occurred due to electrocution”.
As per the available citations of I (2005) CPJ778 in the case of N. KunchiBabu and another Vs. A.P. Transco Hyderabad and others, the Hon’ble National Commission has held that;
“Consumer Protection Act, 1986 – Sections 2(1)(g), 14(1)(d) – electricity –wires touching balcony of house – minor daughter electrocuted, became physically disabled – failure to maintain minimum distance as per norms of Electricity Act - deficiency in service proved – O.P. liable to pay compensation and medical expenses – cost awarded.
As per the Citation of IV (2008) CPJ 139 (NC) in the case ofC.G.M., P & O, NPDCL&Ors Vs. KoppuDuddarajam and another wherein it has been held that;
“Consumer Protection Act, 1986 – Sections 2(1)(d), 2(1)(g) and 14(1)(d) – Electricity – Electrocution – Live wire fell on deceased – Severe electrocution and spot death resulted – Villagers pay taxes to Village Panchayats and power consumption charges to electricity company, are consumers – Complainants being beneficiaries entitled to compensation – Complaint allowed by Forum – Order upheld in appeal – No interference required in revision.”
Hence, the above citations of the Hon’ble Apex Court and Hon’ble National Commission are applicable to the case on hand and as per the above cited citations, the OPs are liable for payment of compensation to the complainant.
10. Then the main question comes before the Forum is that, what is the quantum has to be paid to the complainants. As per the documents produced by the complainants and as per the recent guidelines of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, the husband complainantNo.1was succumbed to the electrocution whose age was 56years, he was an agriculturist and there will earnings from him and on the basis of the guidelines of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, we would like to take notional income for an earning member as Rs.96,000/- p.a and age of the deceased is 35 years and as per Sarala Varma’s citation of Hon’ble Supreme Court, the multiplier will comes to 16. After deducting 1/3 of the income of earning member for his personal expenses, the loss of love and affection to the complainants from deceased will be Rs.72,000 X 16 = Rs.11,52,000/-, to award Rs.1,00,000/- towards love and affection and Rs.50,000/- towards transportation and funeral expenses is to be ordered. So, in all, the complainants are entitled to get for the amount of Rs.13,02,000/-.
11. Hence, as discussed above in above paras, we come to the conclusion that, the complainants are entitled to get the compensation of Rs.13,02,000/-from OPs along with interest as they have not taken precautionary measures of the live wire which was passes through electric main wire and made the deficiency in service in not taking proper steps to safe guard the public interest. Therefore, we come to the conclusion that, there is a deficiency of service on the part of OPs. Accordingly, this Point No.1 is held as partly affirmative to the complainant.
12. Point No.2:- As discussed on the above point and for the reasons stated therein we pass the following:-
ORDER
The complaint filed by the complainant U/s 12 of C.P Act 1986 is partly allowed.
It is ordered that, the OPs are hereby directed to pay a sum of Rs.13,02,000/-to the complainants along with interest at the rate of 9% p.a from the date of filing of this complaint till realization.
Out of which, the complainant No.1 is entitled for a sum of Rs.9,02,000/- along with interest at the rate of 9% p.a from the date of filing of this complaint till realization.
It is further ordered that, the complainant No.2 and 3 are entitled for a sum of Rs.1,00,000/- each along with interest at the rate of 9% p.a from the date of filing of this complaint till realization, the same is ordered to deposit in any Nationalized Bank till attaining their majority.
It is further ordered that, the complainant No.4 is entitled for a sum of Rs.2,00,000/- along with interest at the rate of 9% p.a from the date of filing of this complaint till realization.
It is ordered that, the complainant No.1 is entitled for a sum of Rs.10,000/- towards mental agony and Rs.5,000/- towards cost of the proceedings to the complainant.
It is further ordered that, the OPs are hereby directed to comply the above order within 30 days from the date of this order.
(This order is made with the consent of Member after the correction of the draft on 03/11/2018 and it is pronounced in the open Court after our signatures)
MEMBER PRESIDENT
-:ANNEXURES:-
Witnesses examined on behalf of Complainant:
PW-1: Smt. Asha, complainant No.1 by way of affidavit evidence.
Witnesses examined on behalf of OPs:
DW-1: Sri. C. Basavaraj, A.E by way of affidavit evidence.
Documents marked on behalf of Complainants:
01 | Ex-A-1:- | FIR |
02 | Ex-A-2:- | Complaint by complainant No.1 |
03 | Ex-A-3:- | Charge sheet |
04 | Ex.A-4: | Inquest Mahazar |
05 | Ex.A-5:- | Statement of Muttappa |
06 | Ex.A-6:- | Statement of Rajanna |
07 | Ex.A-7:- | P.M report |
08 | Ex.A-8:- | Death Certificate |
09 | Ex.A-9:- | Adhar Card of complainant No.1 |
10 | Ex.A-10:- | Adhar Card of complainant No.2 |
Documents marked on behalf of OPs:
-Nil-
MEMBER PRESIDENT
Rhr**
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