Bengaluru: The high court recently refused to quash the case against a junior Bescom engineer in a transformer explosion case, noting that the payment of compensation would not mask or invalidate the allegation of dereliction of duty.
junior engineer Mahanthesh S Nagur challenged the proceedings initiated against him based on a complaint registered by the Jnanabharathi police in 2022 following the death of a man and his teenage daughter. He and some others were charged with offenses punishable under Sections 285 (reckless conduct in respect of fire), 338 (grievous injuries endangering life) and 304A (causing death by negligence) of the IPC.
Mahanthesh disputed the same and argued that it was an accident and it was the responsibility of other accused, including the contractors, to maintain the transformer. He maintained that the lack of maintenance of the transformer had caused the accident. He claimed that compensation of Rs 20 lakh was paid to the wife of the deceased. On the other hand, Additional Public Prosecutor BN Jagadeesh stated that the petitioner is directly responsible for the maintenance of the transformer in his area.
Judge M. Nagaprasanna noted that several complaints had been filed before the fateful day seeking to remedy the defect in the transformer. These are indisputable facts and prima facie, negligence is manifest with respect to the petitioner or other accused, the judge added.
The judge said the petitioner’s claim that he should be acquitted of the crime because Rs 20 lakh was paid as compensation for the deaths “is absurd, to say the least”.
“The payment of any amount of compensation by Bescom cannot in any way absolve the officials from the charge of dereliction of duty. A completely different circumstance is that the family of the deceased takes solace in the payment of compensation. The petitioner , who is accused of dereliction of duty along with the deputy executive engineer and the assistant engineer, must necessarily come out clean in the trial,” the judge said.
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APPOINTMENT
The payment of compensation can never nullify or mask the allegation of breach of duty. Today, the incident may have happened to the deceased, and it may happen to others if officers are cleared of liability on the grounds that compensation is paid to the deceased’s family.
– Justice M Nagaprasanna
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Box
The fatal incident
On March 23, 2022, Shivaraj, 55, and his daughter S Chaithanya, 19, residents of Mangammana Palya, Hongasandra, went to Chikkabashti to book Shivahalli Smartha Bhavan for the latter’s engagement. After booking the hall, Shivaraj and his daughter returned home on a two-wheeler. At around 3.10 pm, they were near Sri M Vishveshwaraiah Layout, Manganahalli Nice Road Bridge and were passing by a Bescom road transformer which exploded. Due to the explosion, oil from the burning transformer spilled and fell on Shivaraj and his daughter, who suffered burns. They were taken to Victoria Hospital, where they succumbed to their injuries.
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