Punjab & Haryana HC Sets Compensation For Dog Bite Victims, Asks States To Pay

In a significant ruling, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday has directed that the state government shall be primarily responsible for paying compensation to victims of dog bites, adding that the minimum financial assistance would be Rs 10,000 per tooth mark.

The court ruled, “When the flesh is removed from the skin, the compensation will be at least Rs 20,000 per 0.2 cm wound.”

The ruling came during a hearing on a batch of petitions pertaining to dog bite incidents.

Disposing of a batch of 193 petitions, the high court also mandated the governments of Punjab & Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh to set up committees headed by the deputy commissioners of the respective districts to determine such compensation.

A single bench of Justice Vinod S Bharadwaj ruled, “The award should be issued by the Committees within four months of the filing of the claims along with the necessary documents… The State shall be primarily responsible for paying the compensation, to the defaulting agencies of the state, from the resources of the state. with the right to recover, or a private person.”

The ruling assumes significance at a time when dog bite cases have been on the rise across the country.

Ghaziabad, UP has been topping the charts when it comes to such cases, as no less than 70-80 dog bite incidents are reported daily and 150-180 injections are administered every day to victims of such incidents, according to a recent data shared by the state government.