CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court on Wednesday reserved judgment on a PIL seeking Rs 10 lakh compensation for the death of a four-year-old boy who was killed by a pack of stray dogs in Puri on December 1, 2016. Bibhuti Charan Mohanty, a resident of Puri town, had filed the PIL seven years back.
The division bench of Acting Chief Justice BR Sarangi and Justice MS Raman reserved the judgment after advocate P K Mohanty, appearing on behalf of Puri Municipal Corporation (PMC), pointed out there is no provision for payment of compensation in case of death due to attack by stray dogs under the Municipal Corporation Act.
The court wanted PMC’s response to the compensation sought by the petitioner along with what steps were taken by the civic body to address the grievance of the parents of the child. Mohanty informed the court the parents of the deceased were given Rs 30,000 from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund and Rs 20,000 from Red Cross. The tragic incident had occurred when the boy, whose parents are daily wage earners, was playing near his home at Jagannath Colony in Puri.
Petitioner counsel RK Swain claimed the compensation citing a July 1, 2022 judgment of the Karnataka High Court in which it had granted Rs 10 lakh to the parents of a two-year-old who was killed by a pack of stray dogs in 2018. The child’s father had sought a compensation of Rs 25 lakh for the death of his son, who was attacked by the stray dogs when he was playing near his house.
The petition was filed in the Orissa High Court on December 3, 2016. Though the court had first issued notice to PMC on January 24, 2017, the case went without hearing for nearly six years. When it was taken up on January 4, 2023, the court found PMC had not replied to the notice during all these years.