Boy’s Drowning
Karnataka high court
Bengaluru: The Karnataka high court has refused to accept a Rs 2 lakh compensation offered by three accused persons over the drowning of a toddler in a water tank.In a tragic incident this May, the two-and-a-half-year-old boy entered an under-construction building – the premises of the petitioners – in Rajarajeshwari Nagar police station limits and fell into the tank. Police registered an FIR on May 27.Denying their role and responsibility over the death of the child, the petitioners sought quashing of the proceedings. In lieu of the same, they initially offered Rs 2 lakh compensation to the family members of the deceased child.After the court declined their offer, they offered an enhanced Rs 5 lakh together with an undertaking to pay Rs 10,000 per month for the succeeding 12 months.“Human life is beyond pecuniary valuation; yet when compensation is sought to be substituted for criminal proceedings, the court cannot permit a settlement that appears manifestly disproportionate to the gravity of the loss. The life of a child, radiant with unfulfilled promise and infinite possibilities, cannot be reduced to a figure that scarcely reflects the enormity of the tragedy,” Justice M Nagaprasanna noted while declining the original offer of the petitioners.However, after perusing the enhanced compensation offer, the judge noted that having regard to the economic circumstances of the family of the deceased, the court considered not merely the quantum of compensation, but also the manner in which such an amount would best serve the surviving members of the bereaved household.“The father of the deceased is a mason, earning his livelihood through daily wages, and is burdened with the responsibility of nurturing two other young children. Experience teaches courts that a substantial lump sum, placed in the hands of an impoverished family struggling for daily survival, may be consumed by immediate necessities, leaving little for the long-term welfare of the surviving children. Compassion, therefore, demanded not merely disbursement but preservation,” the judge added while directing the Rs 5 lakh to be invested in an interest-bearing deposit which will help the family members of the deceased.The arrangement is intended to “preserve not merely the compensation, but the future of those children, who continue to look to their parents for hope after the family has endured an irreplaceable loss,” Justice Nagaprasanna observed while quashing the pending proceedings against the petitioners.In the event of default of payment by the petitioners, the complainant (father of the child) is at liberty to seek revival of the proceedings, the judge specified in his order.
