Apartment Association Must Bring In Safety Measures So That Innocent Lives Aren’t Casually Lost: Karnataka HC Charges Members U/S 304A IPC In Child Drowning Death Case
The Karnataka High Court has refused to quash the criminal proceedings against the Members of the Prestige Lake Side Habitat Home Owners Association (‘the Association’) after a nine-year-old girl died by drowning in the pool.
The Court altered the charges from Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (‘IPC’) to Section 304A of the IPC i.e. Death by negligence.
The Bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna observed, “Therefore, the office bearers of the Association should bring in safety measures, subject to just exceptions of privacy of the residents. If any apartment complex has a swimming pool and the said swimming pool is left unguarded without any life guard or without any safety measures taken as the case would be, those apartment complexes would be doing so at their own peril. Therefore, it is for the members of every apartment Association to protect the lives of infants, in the apartment complex, by bringing in such measures that would avoid any such mishap, so that innocent lives are not casually lost in the manner that has happened in the case at hand. Since it is an admitted that no life guard is even appointed, to guard the pool at appropriate hours, nor the pool itself is guarded by placing safety measures around the pool, which the petitioners were obliged to provide and take care of, they will have to come out clean in a full blown trial, not for the offence under Section 304 of the IPC, but for offence punishable under Section 304A of the IPC, as prima facie, I find negligence on the part of the petitioners.”
Senior Advocate Sandesh J Chouta appeared for the Petitioners while HCGP Thejesh P appeared for the Respondents.
A writ petition was filed seeking to quash a complaint and an FIR, subsequent chargesheet and proceedings pending for the offences under Sections 149 and 304 of the IPC against the Petitioners-Accused.
The Accused were the Members of the Association, who were the managers of an apartment complex at Gunjur, Varthur, Bengaluru. It was the case of the prosecution that the daughter of the Complainant slipped into the swimming pool in the apartment complex and died by drowning.
The Accused had contended that both the offences did not apply to the facts of the case as there was no intention of the petitioners to commit homicide, which is a requirement of Section 304 of the IPC.
The Accused also submitted that in no apartment complex, swimming pools, there is any guard who would stop a child from moving around the swimming pool, as it is a question of privacy. To which the Court replied, “This submission is unacceptable. If there is no life guard who is guarding the swimming pool particularly when the children are around, it is shirking of the responsibility on the part of the elected Association. It cannot be said that they are not accountable or responsible for the happening in the apartment complex, particularly the event of the kind… The submission of the learned senior counsel that, in no apartment complex guards are kept at the swimming pools if accepted, will have a disastrous effect on the safety of the residents particularly, the children of infant age.”
The Court observed that the Accused were the Members of the Association and they must take care of every grievance of the residents, therefore, the Court obliterated the offence laid against them under Section 304 of the IPC and charged them with Section 304A of the IPC.
Accordingly, the Court allowed the writ petition in part.
Cause Title: Sri Debashish Sinha and Ors. v. The State of Karnataka And Anr.
Appearances:
Petitioners: Senior Advocate Sandesh J Chouta with Advocate NS Sriraj Gowda
Respondents: HCGP Thejesh P
