CHENNAI: Applying a ruling by the Supreme Court, the Madras High Court has held that the family of a school going girl, not an earning member who was electrocuted, is entitled to the theory of multiplier of income and awarded a total compensation of Rs 6 lakh.
Justice S Vaidyanathan made the observation while disposing of a writ petition from P Siva Sakthivel, demanding a compensation of Rs 6.75 lakh from the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) for the death of his daughter Prema by electrocution in 2006.
The judge said there was no codified law for arriving at the quantum of compensation in these type of cases. The enactments like the Motor Vehicles Act, the Workmen’s Compensation Act and the Fatal Accidents Act may be applied for arriving at a just compensation.
In the case on hand, the petitioner’s daughter was a school going student. As the victim girl succumbed to the injuries caused by electrocution, the court felt it appropriate to fix the minimum monthly income of the victim as Rs 3,000 and following the ratio laid down by the apex court on multiple theory, the compensation had been fixed at Rs 6 lakh, judge said.
The amount should be paid within three months by the TANGEDCO with six per cent interest from the date of accident till payment. The same could be recovered within a month from the staff concerned, who visited the petitioner, collected the details and assured necessary monetary relief, but did not do so, the judge added.
According to the petitioner, his elder daughter Prema (12), while cycling home from school fell in a stagnant pool of water up to her ankle at Mahalakshmi Nagar Main Road and came in contact with a live electric cable, got electrocuted and died on August 22, 2006 in a hospital.