MADURAI: King ‘Manu Needhi’ Cholan is known for being an ideal judge. Legend has it that he hung a giant bell in front of his palace so that anyone who sought justice could ring it and he or she would be heard. He is said to have punished his own son with death for running over a calf, in order to provide justice to the calf's mother. It is this act which earned him the title of the ‘Chola king who granted justice’. His statue can be seen at the Madras High Court campus.
Justice GR Swaminathan of the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court was reminded of the legend when a bereaved father knocked on the doors of the court seeking justice for his son's death.
Sendhattikalaipandian, a gardener from Virudhunagar, lost his elder son Saravanan (22). An IAS aspirant, Saravanan died of electrocution early last month when he accidentally came in contact with a live overhanging electric wire while returning home by his two-wheeler. Sendhattikalaipandian had sent a letter to the registry of the court seeking justice.
Not having the heart to tell the poor villager that he should engage an advocate and file a proper writ petition, Justice Swaminathan, following in the footsteps of late Justice VR Krishna Iyer, treated the letter as a writ petition and heard the case on October 29.
The standing counsel appearing for Tangedco had submitted that the high-tension line snapped on account of squirrel interference. Since it had fallen on karuvelam bushes that had grown near the electric pole, the wire did not touch the ground due to which the feeder had not tripped at the sub-station, she explained. Such mishaps occur due to bird hits or rodent interference and officials cannot be blamed for that, she contended and added that the department is ready to pay Rs 5 lakh as solatium to Sendhattikalaipandian.
Justice Swaminathan visited the spot at which the mishap occurred on Monday. He noted that there were no squirrel guards on the pole. Moreover, if the wire had fallen to the ground, the electricity supply would have stopped and the youth's life would have been saved. But due to growth of seemai karuvelam bushes under the electric pole, the connection remained intact leading to the youth's death, he observed.
Applying the formula used for computing damages in motor accident cases, he directed Tangedco to offer a compensation of Rs 13.86 lakh to Saravanan's family. He also directed the department to provide a compassionate appointment to Saravanan's younger brother.
The judge further advised Tangedco to conduct safety audits and suggested it encourage young scientists to come up with a solution for rodent intervention and bird hits so that such mishaps could be avoided in future.