[Children Drown In Open Water Tank] Rs. 10 Lakhs Compensation Approved For Parents: BMC Tells Bombay High Court

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Tuesday informed the Bombay High Court that ad-hoc compensation of Rs 10 lakhs as a special case will be given to the parents of two minor boys who drowned in an open water tank at a civic garden in Mumbai's Wadala.

Senior Advocate Anil Singh for BMC submitted that the concerned contractor will pay the compensation of Rs. 5 lakhs per victim to the parents. He further submitted that the water tank is now properly covered.

A division bench of Justice GS Patel and Justice Kamal Khata was dealing with a suo motu PIL to establish a system and determine accountability for awarding compensation in cases where accidents or deaths occur due to negligence by the municipal corporation and other civic bodies.

“The issue will have to be decided later. Whether motor accidents law or insurance law will apply, whether it has to be open ended liability that goes through suits, is a separate matter” Justice Patel said today, asking whether an ad-hoc compensation has been provided.

The bench took suo motu cognizance of news reports and an article published in the Deccan Herald about two boys, aged 4 and 5 years, who were found dead in a water tank that did not have a proper cover or lid. Subsequently, news outlets reported that the family's tenement was demolished after the court initiated the suo moto PIL.

“Two facts are taken and smashed together to create a different impression. But for this unfortunate incident, the demolition would have happened in the due course anyway. We don't want one colouring the other before the court…These matters can't be tried in the press”, Justice Patel remarked.

The court has clarified earlier it is not expanding the scope of the present PIL and the issue of demolition can be addressed in separate petitions or PILs.

However, the court had sought BMC's affidavit stating exact details of the demolition, to ensure that that the demolition was not an “ad hoc action” by the BMC.

Today, BMC submitted its affidavit, stating that efforts have been going on to clear the concerned area of encroachments since 2016. A very large number of notices were issued form February 2016 to 2024 for demolition, the court noted. The affidavit further stated that eligibility of certain occupants for alternate accommodation was determined following a government resolution.

Senior Advocate Anil Singh told LiveLaw that the family of the two boys was not included in the eligibility list. Further, notice of demolition was issued against their hutment, he said.

After going through the affidavit, the court decided to separate the aspect of demolition from the principal inquiry regarding liability of civic bodies for deaths or accidents arising out of their negligence.

The court has earlier also directed BMC to file another affidavit clarifying whether there are any Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to determine liability and compensation whenever BMC takes up any work that involves digging up, excavation or creating a potentially dangerous situation in a place accessible to the public.

Case no. – Suo Motu Public Interest Litigation No. 2 of 2024

Case Title – High Court in its own Motion v. State of Maharashtra & Ors.