Karnataka HC rejects BESCOM officials’ plea to quash criminal case in electrocution incident
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has refused to quash a criminal case registered against BESCOM officials after the death of a woman and her nine-month-old child due to electric shock as the woman came in contact with a live wire broken and lying on a public road.
Justice M Nagaprasanna, who was a part of the single-judge bench hearing the case, dismissed the plea by BESCOM Executive Engineer Sriram and the Assistant Executive Engineer to quash the case filed against them under Section 304A of the Indian Penal Code (causing death by negligence), reports LiveLaw. The case was registered against the officials based on a police complaint filed by Santhosh Kumar, husband of the deceased woman.
The bench pointed out that, as the wife and the child of the complainant have died, it would amount to negligence, and that who holds responsibility in such cases of negligence would always be a matter of investigation or trial.
Stating that innocent lives were lost due to the negligence of the Electricity Department officers, Justice Nagaprasanna added that the officers would have to face the law and need to be accountable for what he called ‘a casual loss of life of a citizen’. “It is high time that these officers wake up, right from top brass to the man on the field and put their effort to obviate such instances being repeated overall again, as a citizen cannot bear the impact of repetition of such negligence, leading to death of lives,” he told the petitioners.
The complainant Santhosh Kumar had told the police that on November 19, 2023, they went to Hope Farm. His wife was carrying their nine-month-old daughter, when she came in contact with the live wire lying on the street, and the mother-daughter duo died of electrocution, suffering an electric shock.
As the locals reacted strongly to the incident, BESCOM transferred Sriram and suspended the second petitioner, but the High Court reversed both orders, forcing the petitioners to request the court to quash the case against them.
While the advocate representing BESCOM argued that the Assistant Engineer could be considered responsible for the incident, at the most. The petitioners, who held the posts of executive engineer and the assistant executive engineer under BESCOM, had no wrongdoing which could be directly attributed to them.
The prosecution, however, opposed the plea, saying many officials are charged in the case and everybody cannot wash off their hands on the basis of a report of an officer of the Electrical Inspectorate of the Electricity Department, who is an officer of BESCOM. It also rejected the report of the Electrical Inspectorate, which, after its inquiry, opined that it was ‘nobody’s fault’ and quashed the order of suspension.
Justice Nagaprasanna stressed that the death due to electric shock could not be compared to a branch of a tree falling on a passerby. He pointed out that the broken live wire had been brought to the notice of the Department through the BESCOM helpline and the junior engineer was to attend to it, as it was his duty to immediately attend to helpline complaints. The judge also said, “Merely because other officers from Station Operator in the hierarchy have different roles and responsibility, they being officers of BESCOM in the operation and maintenance department, have to undertake periodic checks of wires that are snapped and hanging. It is here the role of all these persons would become applicable.”
The statement of the Electrical Inspectorate in its inquiry report, calling it ‘nobody’s fault’, would not mean that these petitioners will be left off the hook, as the investigation in the least, should be permitted to continue, the High Court has stated.
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Allen, Raghuvanshi, Green power KKR to 29-run win over GT
Kolkata (PTI): Finn Allen blasted a 35-ball 93, while Angkrish Raghuvanshi hit an unbeaten 44-ball 82 as Kolkata Knight Riders kept their playoff hopes alive with a 29-run win over Gujarat Titans in the IPL match here on Saturday.
Sent in to bat, Allen went on a six-hitting spree, smashing 10 maximums and four boundaries to add 95 off 41 balls with Raghuvanshi (82).
Raghuvanshi then shared another 108 off 53 balls with Cameron Green (52 not out) to power KKR to a challenging 247 for 2.
In reply, GT could manage 218-4, riding on skipper Shubman Gill's 49-ball 85 and a 35-ball 57 from Jos Buttler. Opener Sai Sudarsan was retired hurt but returned to make a 28-ball 53 not out.
Sunil Narine (2/29) claimed two wickets and Saurabh Dubey snapped one for KKR.
For GT, Mohammed Siraj (1/50), Sai Kishore (1/38) were the wicket-takers.
Brief Score:
KKR: 247 for 2 in 20 overs (Finn Allen 93, Angkrish Raghuvanshi 82 not out, Camero Green 52 not out; Mohammed Siraj 1/50).
GT: 218 for 4 in 20 overs (Shubman Gill 85, Sunil Narine 2/29).
