Child’s sewer pit death reflects civic failure: Delhi HC

New Delhi:The Delhi High Court has held that the death of young children due to the failure of government authorities to ensure safety measures reflects a “fundamental breakdown of civic governance”, while awarding nearly ₹33

New Delhi:The Delhi High Court has held that the death of young children due to the failure of government authorities to ensure safety measures reflects a “fundamental breakdown of civic governance”, while awarding nearly ₹33.5 lakh in compensation to the parents of a 10-year-old boy who died after falling into an uncovered sewer pit.

Court held that the negligence accounted to a violation of the child’s fundamental right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. (HT Archive)

In the 88-page verdict dated July 27, a bench of justice Mini Pushkarna said the case reflected the apathy of state authorities who tried to shift responsibility, instead of accepting negligence.

The court held that the negligence accounted to a violation of the child’s fundamental right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

“The present is a classic case where the state authorities have displayed apathy towards the death of a child by trying to shift burden onto each other, despite apparent negligence in not securing the site,” the court said.

The court also noted that such incidents reflect fundamental breakdown of the civic governance and failure of the civic body in their duty of care. It added, “Foundational and material facts stand clearly established in the present case, which point towards the negligence on part of respondents.”

The Public Works Department (PWD) opposed the petition, saying the incident site was beyound its jurisdiction. The DJB also denied responsibility, saying the work was being carried out by two private contractors.

The court, however,directed the Delhi govenrment and DJB to pay ₹16,92,511.6 each, along with 9% interest.

It said the government and agencies involved had failed to take adequate safety measures and the incident could have been averted.

“Only one security guard was deployed for the large area of the site when the incident occurred. The contractor was actively negligent, while its work was supervised by Engineers India Limited under the DJB . Thus, there is a clear case of negligence,” the court added.