CHENNAI: Castigating police for their lapse in probing the death of a child aged three in a storm water drain at Taramani in 2013, the first bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday recommended departmental proceedings against the delinquent officer(s) with all seriousness to fix the responsibility.
“This is an unpardonable negligence on behalf of whoever was responsible for the same in the police department and we cannot rest the matter at only filing of the charge-sheet,” the bench of Chief Justice SK Kaul and Justice R Mahadevan said and directed the higher ups to place before it the result of the enquiry by January 30 next year.
According to activist ‘Traffic’ KR Ramaswamy, while playing, the child fell into the storm water drain on June 15, 2013 due to the dilapidated condition of the road and the deliberate negligence of officials of public department like Chennai Corporation and the lack of supervision of the tender process.
When the matter came up earlier on October 17 last, the bench directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), Adyar and the Commissioner of Corporation to be present personally in the court.
Accordingly, the two appeared and it was brought to the notice of the bench that investigation into the death of the child had been completed in 2013 itself and the charge-sheet was filed only now.
The bench made it clear that it will not accept the usual wishy-washy way of imposition of some minor punishment on junior officer, as the matter relates to the very probity of the functioning of the department. The DCP, Adyar range, who was present in the court undertook to do the needful. With regard to the action taken by the Corporation, the Additional Advocate-General told the bench, the whole issue of fixing administrative responsibility for the negligence was being reviewed and necessary departmental proceedings would be initiated. And the bench directed the AAG to place the result before the Court and listed the case for compliance on January 30.