The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has ordered a payment of Rs 20 lakh in compensation to a youth who sustained 78 percent disability after being electrocuted by an exposed wire in 2007.
A single bench of Justice Vinod Chatterji Koul dismissed the Jammu and Kashmir Power Department’s objections regarding the delay in claiming such compensation.
The petition, filed in 2018 by 21-year-old Abrar Ahmad Tantray, sought compensation for the electrocution he suffered as an 8-year-old boy due to an uncovered electric transformer. Tantray also requested that the government sympathetically consider him for a suitable job according to his qualifications, to prevent him from feeling dependent and handicapped for life.
Tantray had been playing with other children outside when he was electrocuted by a snapped 11 KV line wire in Kujjar Kulgam village. The electrocution caused severe burn injuries on the left side of his body, leading to the amputation of part of his arm, and resulted in a 78 percent permanent disability.
The State contested his 2018 compensation plea on the grounds that it was filed after a nine-year delay, despite the authorities acknowledging the occurrence of the electrocution incident.
The Court was also informed that, following the incident, Abrar’s case had been recommended for relief and rehabilitation on humanitarian grounds, with a letter forwarded to the Development Commissioner, Power, in October 2007.
However, the Court found that no compensation had been paid.
Consequently, Justice Koul ordered the authorities to pay ₹20 lakh as compensation to the petitioner, along with an interest of 6 percent per annum from the date of the petition’s presentation (2018) until the amount is paid.
