Court order over ₹ 10 Crore penalty sought in Bengaluru metro pillar case

Mangalore Today News Network / NDTV

Bengaluru, July 26, 2023: The High Court of Karnataka has issued notices to the state government, Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) and others on a petition filed by a man, who lost his wife and minor child in the Namma Metro pillar collapse incident earlier this year, seeking compensation.

 

Petitioner Lohitkumar V Sulakhe filed a writ petition demanding a compensation of ₹ 10 crore, claiming that the accident had occurred due to the negligence of BMRCL authorities.

Petitioner’s wife Tejaswini L Sulakhe (26) and his two-and-a-half-year-old son Vihan, who were travelling on a bike died after the under-construction metro pillar fell on them on January 10, 2023, near Nagavara.

The BMRCL had communicated to Lohitkumar that ₹ 20 lakh compensation would be provided to the family of the victims.

In his petition, which was heard by Justice Krishna S Dixit, Lohitkumar Sulakhe submitted that "mere compensation of ₹ 20 lakh amount was not sufficient for the innocent life which was lost due to inaction, inadequate safety measures and carelessness on part of the respondents." Tejaswini Sulakhe, a software engineer, was earning Rs.75,748 per month, it said.

The petitioner further said that the compensation "is not adequate, and the same is just a mere compensation to hide the negligence of their part of safety work and the fact that all the respondents present in this case lacked knowledge on safety precautions and how all the respondents were careless and ignorant about the safety measures and due to which two innocent lives were lost."

Noting that Tejaswini was the breadwinner in the family, which had recently moved into a flat purchased on loan, the petition sought a compensation of ₹ 10 crore for the victim’s family.

The court adjourned the case after issuing the notices to the respondents to file their objections.

The other respondents in the petition include the MD, Chief Engineer and Operation Engineer of BMRCL, ICICI Lombard General Insurance, MD of Nagarjuna Construction Company and its project manager.