BSF Jawan electrocuted: Mandi court orders HPSEB to pay Rs 1.19Cr compensation
Photo used for indicative purpose only. Source internet
Mandi, Aug 2,
The District Judge of Mandi Division on Friday directed the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board (HPSEB) to pay Rs 1.19 crore compensation to the family of a BSF jawan who died due to electrocution in July 2019.
The court held HPSEB liable under the principle of strict liability, citing its negligence in maintaining power infrastructure. The deceased, Surendra Singh (38), a resident of village Rangad in Dharampur, was electrocuted while ploughing his field with a tractor on July 5, 2019. He accidentally came in contact with a stay wire attached to an electric pole and died on the spot.
According to the petition filed by his wife Nisha Devi, accompanied by their two minor children, multiple complaints regarding the dangerous condition of the wire had been made to the Electricity Board prior to the incident, but no action was taken.
The court took note of the post-mortem report, police findings, and departmental probe which confirmed that current was already flowing through the pole and wire before the accident. It was also revealed that after the incident, officials from the Electricity Board and Gram Panchayat found the wire had been hastily cut—suggesting an attempt to tamper with evidence.
Although HPSEB tried to shift blame onto the deceased, claiming he caused the accident by hitting the stay wire with his tractor, the court rejected this argument based on witness testimonies and documentary evidence.
The family had initially sought Rs. 1 crore as compensation and had received Rs. 5 lakh as interim relief. The final compensation of Rs. 1.19 crore has now been awarded by the court in view of the board’s failure to act on repeated warnings.
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