( 1 ) THE plaintiffs have filed this suit for the recovery of Rs. 15,00,000/- (Rupees fifteen lacs) as damages/compensation under Section 1a of the Fatal Accidents Act, 1855 on account of the untimely death of Pratap Singh Yadav who died on 30. 1. 1992 due to electrocution.

( 2 ) THE suit has been filed with the averments that deceased Pratap Singh yadav aged about 36 years was employed as a Junior Telecom Officer (J. T. O.) with mtnl-defendant No. 4. As usual, he was on his official duty from 9. 00 a. m. to 5. 00 p. m. on 30. 1. 1992. At about 4. 30 p. m. he along with two other persons went to the link Telephone Exchange, Shakti Nagar Delhi and returned from there in a jeap to keshav Puram Exchange. The driver parked the jeep on the main road in front of keshav Puram Exchange Building and the deceased followed by the driver Ashok kumar and one Thanjajdhiraj Vashishtha, forged ahead in an attempt to gain entry in the main gate of the Building of Exchange and in the process the deceased had to overtake a cess-pit of storm water, and came in touch with a stray wire installed to support the electric poll, having high potency current, as a result of which the deceased was electrocuted and died on the spot. FIR was lodged for an offence under Section 304 (a) and inquiry was also held by defendant No. 4 as also by the desu authorities. It is alleged that death of the deceased was occasioned due to the negligence on the part of the defendant No. 3 who is responsible for erection of electric posts, erection of electric grid, electric installations of over-head lines, fittings and fixtures to the electric installations and posts which was embedded in the earth including the stray wires as it was not expected that heavy electric current would be passing through the stray wire supporting the electric poll. The plaintiff at the time of his death was a confirmed J. T. O. in the pay scale of Rs. 2000-3500 and was drawing a gross salary of Rs. 3,850/- and he was due to get highest pay scale and in due course he could also get promotion in the scale of Rs. 4500-8300 and could have been in the service up to the age of 60 years and could have drawn accumulative pay and benefits to the extent of Rs. 15,96,690/- in the remaining period of his service and would have lived for a period of 80 years and would have enjoyed retirement benefits of pension, gratuity, leave encashment etc. Plaintiff No. 1 is the wife of the deceased while plaintiff Nos. 2 to 4 are the three minor sons of the deceased and plaintiff No. 5 is the unfortunate aged father of the deceased. Plaintiff Nos. 2 to 4 were permitted to be sued through their mother and grand-father during the pendency of the suit plaintiff No. 2 and have attained majority and elected to pursue the suit on their own. Plaintiffs by serving statutory legal notice under Section 80 called upon the defendant to pay the compensation but there being no response from the side of the defendants, plaintiffs have thus filed the present suit.

( 3 ) THE suit has been contested by the defendants and a written statement has been filed on behalf of the defendant No. 2-DESU which now stands substituted by north Delhi Power Ltd. raising preliminary objections that the suit of the plaintiff is absolutely misconceived and without any merits and is liable to be dismissed; the suit is barred by time and as also having being filed after lapse of time prescribed under Section 478 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act; the suit was bad for non-joinder of the necessary parties that is the MTNL as the digging at the site of accident was done by the MTNL. It is denied that the death of the deceased was occasioned due to any negligence on the part of the DESU in the maintenance of lines or polls and equipments. On the other hand it is explained that the leakage of current in the stray wire attached to the electric poll had occurred firstly on account of deep digging done by the MTNL near the site as a result of whi