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Ludhiana: Principal secy, PSPCL chief get HC contempt notices
The Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) has issued a contempt of court notice to principal secretary (power) and Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) chairperson-cum-managing director (CMD) for not responding to a compensation plea filed by a mother-son duo after a man’s death due to electrocution.
The Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) has issued a contempt of court notice to principal secretary (power) and Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) chairperson-cum-managing director (CMD) for not responding to a compensation plea filed by a mother-son duo after a man’s death due to electrocution.
According to the order issued on September 19, the court has given two-week time to principal secretary Tejveer Singh and PSPCL CMD Baldev Singh Sran to file a compliance report.
The court directed that if the respondents fail to file the compliance report within the stipulated time, the officer concerned will appear in the court through video conferencing and will reimburse litigation cost of ₹50,000 from their own pocket to the petitioners.
The woman, Charanpreet Kaur of Ludhiana’s Ishar Nagar, said in her petition that she, her husband Kulbir Singh and son Kabir Singh were living in a rented accommodation in Paradise Palms, Kharar.
On October 28, 2022, her husband died of electrocution after coming in contact with high-voltage power supply cables crossing near the roof. The victim was dusting foot mats of their house at the time, she added.
The petition added that the local police initiated proceedings under section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPc) and a post-mortem was conducted.
She said that in the post-mortem report, the doctor stated cause of death as ‘cardio-genic shock due to electrocution’.
As her husband was the lone breadwinner for the family, she sought compensation for herself and her son. After the death of her husband, she had shifted to Ludhiana.
According to advocate Rapton Bedi, who is representing the petitioner in the compensation case, the high court had ordered the PSPCL to frame a policy to compensate the victims of electrocution and their families following multiple writ petitions.
The PSPCL had then formed a policy which came to force on December 8, 2023.
The HC placed the said policy on record on December 15, 2023.
According to police, the PSPCL is bound to consider the compensation applications within 30 days.
Charanpreet Kaur filed an application before PSPCL on February 15, 2023, seeking compensation.
However, the PSPCL has not responded to the application till date. She had moved high court earlier this month.
