Mumbai: The widow of a man who allegedly jumped off the Atal Setu has petitioned Bombay high court to seek a declaration that he is dead and for directions to the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation to issue his death certificate.The woman (34), in her petition that came up this week but stands adjourned, said her husband, Karuturi Srinivas, jumped into the sea from the bridge in July 2024. Her plea, argued by counsel Anita Castellino before a bench headed by Justice R V Ghuge, said she approached the HC after three municipal corporations denied her relief, citing ‘lack of jurisdiction’. Her lawyers sought a hearing of the petition which was filed a few months ago on April 23. The Atal Setu bridge connects south Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. The widow in her plea said she was contacted by Nhava Sheva police who showed her the CCTV footage of a man jumping off and the car parked there, on the basis of which she identified her husband.The petition said that “despite repeated oral and written representations to all civic bodies and relevant govt authorities” she has not been issued the death certificate, resulting in “extreme hardship and mental distress”. She said “inaction and negligence on the part of the authorities is unjustified, arbitrary, and violative of her legal and fundamental rights”.The widow is facing financial difficulties and is compelled to depend entirely on her aged mother and extended family members for basic sustenance, her counsel contended, “solely” due to non-issuance of the certificate as she is “legally entitled to receive various post-death benefits of her late husband, such as his provident fund, gratuity, life insurance proceeds, and other financial dues” for which the death certificate is mandatory. Her petition says that despite being entitled to her husband’s financial benefits, she is being denied. The HC has posted the matter to July.
