Need To Adopt Different Approach While Calculating Pecuniary Losses: Delhi HC Directs DJB To Pay ₹22L Compensation Over Death Of 9-Yr-Old Who Fell Into Pit

The Delhi High Court has directed Delhi Jal Board (DJB) to pay compensation of Rs. 22 lakhs in a case involving death of a nine-year-old kid who fell into a pit.

The Court was dealing with a Petition filed by a man seeking compensation for the untimely and tragic death of his son who died allegedly due to the gross negligence and dereliction of duty on the part of the DJB.

A Single Bench of Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav said, “In Kishan Lal, while the Court relied upon Kamla Devi to calculate the standard compensation, it also opined that there is a need to adopt a different approach while calculating the pecuniary losses. It was observed that the Court in Kamla Devi was adjudicating a prayer for compensation involving an earning adult whose death had an immediate financial impact on his family, whereas, in contrast, the prayer for compensation in Kishan Lal concerns the death of a small child who was not contributing to the household income.”

Advocate Aruna Mehta appeared on behalf of the Petitioners while Advocates Karunesh Tandon and Manish Kumar Srivastava appeared on behalf of the Respondents.

Brief Facts -

The parents of the deceased son (Petitioners) had two children. In 2016, the deceased and some other children were flying kites on the roof of their respective houses. While chasing a cut-off kite, the deceased was running towards the vacant ground owned by DJB when unfortunately, he slipped and fell down in a pit dug in the vacant land. The mother of the deceased after anxiously waiting for him who failed to return home, began a search for him but his whereabouts could not be traced. She, therefore, made a call to her husband, informing him about their missing son. After the husband reached home, both the Petitioners made inquiries from the neighbours and during the said course, a few children of the locality informed them that the deceased was following the cut off kite towards the vacant land.

Thereafter, they along with the neighbours rushed to the said ground and found a pit filled up with rainwater. One of the neighbours, immediately jumped in the pit and found the body of the deceased lying in the same. The PCR van also reached the site and the deceased was taken to the Hospital, where he was declared as dead on arrival. Thereafter, a post-mortem was conducted and then an FIR under Section 304A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) was registered against the officials of DJB. Subsequently, the dead body of the deceased was handed over to the father of the deceased for performing the last rites and ritual. Being aggrieved by the alleged negligence of the Respondents, the Petitioners approached the High Court seeking compensation of Rs. 30 lakhs on account of the tragic death of their son.

The High Court in view of the above facts, observed, “As per Kamla Devi, the product of the multiplicand and the multiplier results in the figure of annual loss of dependency. The age of the deceased was nine years and the multiplier for it, according to the Schedule II of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, is 15. The multiplicand is calculated by dividing the family into units - 2 for each adult member and 1 for each minor. Then annual income is divided by the total number of units to get the value of each unit. The annual dependency loss is then calculated by multiplying the value of each unit by the number of units excluding the two units for the deceased adult member.”

The Court further noted that the multiplicand can be calculated by considering the father's monthly salary as the assumed monthly income of the deceased and this amount is multiplied by 12 to arrive at the annual income and then halved. It also said that subsequently, this multiplicand amount is multiplied by the appropriate multiplier as prescribed and in this case, the monthly salary of the father, as indicated in the rejoinder affidavit filed by the Petitioners, is approximately Rs. 20,000/-.

“DJB is directed to pay a lump sum amount of Rs 22,00,000/- alongwith simple interest at the rate of 6% per annum from the date of incident i.e., till the date of realisation, as compensation to the petitioners for the death of their son within a period of three months from the passing of this judgment”, it directed.

The Court concluded that, any failure to comply with the direction shall result in the Petitioners being entitled for payment of additional simple interest at the rate of 10% per annum, till the payment is made.

Accordingly, the High Court disposed of the Petition and directed DJB to pay the compensation.

Cause Title- Pravesh Kumar & Anr. v. Delhi Jal Board & Ors. (Neutral Citation: 2024:DHC:8970)

Appearance:

Petitioners: Advocate Aruna Mehta

Respondents: CGSC Kirtiman Singh, Advocates Karunesh Tandon, Rahul Chauhan, Abhishek Singh, Manish Kumar Srivastava, Moksh Arora, Santosh Ramdurg, Yash Srivastava, Waize Ali Noor, Varun Pratap, Maulik, and Rajeev.

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