CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has directed the State government to fence the abandoned stone quarries in the State to prevent untoward incidents. Recently, two young boys had drowned at an abandoned quarry in Anaicut, Vellore.
Admitting two separate pleas moved by parents of R Gideon (15) and S Moses (17)-- the boys who died in the incident, the court directed the authorities to pay Rs 25.31 lakhs to both the families as compensation.
While directing the authorities about the compensation, Justice R Mahadevan said, “Human lives are precious, and loss of a life is not capable of evaluation in terms of money... However, in cases of death due to the negligence of others, the tort-feasor (a party that commits a civil wrong doing) has to be made liable to pay compensation to the family of the victim. Once the period of lease expires, the lease holders must fence the site and provide other safety parameters,” the court added.
The court further observed that the death of the children has a definite nexus with negligence from the part of the State as well as the private licence holder. It concluded that both the State and the licence holder were statutorily and vicariously liable to compensate the petitioners.
Pleas moved after death of boys
The parents of the two boys– R Gideon and S Moses–who had drowned at an abandoned quarry in Anaicut, had moved separate pleas to the Court