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High Court Of Delhi
DHARAMVIR KATARIA - Appellant
Versus
UNION OF INDIA - Respondent
Civil Writ 4837 of 1996
Decided On : 04/22/1999
NEGLIGENCE - LIFT ACCIDENT - COMPENSATION - PUBLIC LAW REMEDY - STRICT LIABILITY - QUANTUM OF COMPENSATION - LIABILITY OF STATE AND ITS FUNCTIONARIES - RIGHT TO LIFE - ARTICLE 21 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA.
Fact of the Case:
The petitioner's wife, Mrs. Mangia Kataria, was found dead in the pit of a lift in a multi-storeyed residential building of the National Institute of Health and Family Welfare (NIHFW). The petitioner claimed that the death of his wife resulted due to the negligence of the respondents, including the Union of India, the Director of NIHFW, the Director General of Works, the lift manufacturer, and the lift operator.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the respondents were negligent in the operation and maintenance of the lift, which resulted in the death of Mrs. Mangia Kataria. The court held that the respondents had breached their public duty to ensure the safety of the residents of the building and that this breach of duty had resulted in the violation of Mrs. Mangia Kataria's right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
Issues: 1. Whether the respondents were negligent in the operation and maintenance of the lift? 2. Whether the negligence of the respondents resulted in the death of Mrs. Mangia Kataria? 3. Whether the respondents' negligence constituted a breach of their public duty? 4. Whether the breach of public duty by the respondents violated Mrs. Mangia Kataria's right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India? 5. What is the appropriate quantum of compensation to be awarded to the petitioner and his children?
Ratio Decidendi: 1. The respondents were negligent in the operation and maintenance of the lift, as evidenced by the following factors: - The lift operator, Ram Charitra, failed to communicate with Mrs. Mangia Kataria when she was trapped in the lift and did not use the special key to open the lift doors. - The respondents failed to provide adequate training to Ram Charitra for undertaking rescue operations. - The respondents failed to display safety instructions in the lift for the guidance of trapped passengers. - The respondents failed to provide an attendant in the lift, despite the fact that the lift was located in a residential building where children and old persons would also be making use of the same. 2. The negligence of the respondents resulted in the death of Mrs. Mangia Kataria, as evidenced by the following factors: - Mrs. Mangia Kataria was found dead in the pit of the lift shortly after she was seen entering the building. - The post-mortem report suggested that the death was caused due to multiple injuries as a result of a fall. 3. The respondents' negligence constituted a breach of their public duty to ensure the safety of the residents of the building, as evidenced by the following factors: - The respondents were responsible for the operation and maintenance of the lift. - The respondents failed to take adequate steps to ensure the safety of the lift, despite the fact that they were aware of the potential risks involved. - The respondents' negligence resulted in the death of Mrs. Mangia Kataria, a resident of the building. 4. The breach of public duty by the respondents violated Mrs. Mangia Kataria's right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, as evidenced by the following factors: - Article 21 of the Constitution of India guarantees the right to life and personal liberty to all citizens. - The respondents' negligence resulted in the death of Mrs. Mangia Kataria, thereby violating her right to life. 5. The appropriate quantum of compensation to be awarded to the petitioner and his children is Rs. 4.5 lakhs, to be paid by the Union of India in the first instance, with the right to recover the amount from the other respondents.
Final Decision: The court awarded compensation of Rs. 4.5 lakhs to the petitioner and his children, to be paid by the Union of India in the first instance, with the right to recover the amount from the other respondents. The court also held that the award of compensation in public law jurisdiction shall be without prejudice to any other action which may be lawfully available to the petitioner and other heirs of Mrs. Mangia Kataria.
( 1 ) THE petitioner. Col. Dharamvir Kataria, is the husband of the deceased Mrs. Mangia Kataria, Head of the Department of Statistics and Demography, National Institute of Health and Family Welfare (for short "nihfw" ). The first respondentistheunionoflndia,thesecondrespondentisthedirectorofnihfw,third respondent is Director General of Works, fourth respondent is M/s. Bharat Bijiee Ltd. and the fifth respondent is M/s. A. G. Enterprises.
( 2 ) THE NIHFW, a Government organisation, built two multi-storeyed Blocks of Type IV Quarters and two multi-storeyed Blocks of Type V Quarters in its Campus at Munirka. The construction was carried out by the Central Public Works Department (for short "cpwd" ). The residential flats were taken over by the NIHFW on June 15, 1995. Type IV and V Blocks have been provided with two numbers lifts. These lifts were installed by the fourth respondent-M/s. Bharat Bijiee Limited under the supervision and direction of the CPWD. The lifts were handed over by the CPWD to NIHFW on )une 13,1996. After two days viz. June 15,1996 the lifts were handed back by NIHFW to Electrical Division No. XIII of the CPWD for their operation and maintenance. Though the fourth respondent, M/s. Bharat Bijiee Ltd, had undertaken warranty and guarantee responsibility of the lifts, contract for their operation and day-to-day care was awarded to the fifth respondent, M/s. A. G. Enterprises, w. e. f. June 26, 1996.
( 3 ) THE wife of the petitioner, Mrs. Mangia Kataria, who was the Head of the Department of Statistics and Demography, NIHFW, was allotted Flat No. 13 on the 4th floor of Block I (Type V Quarters) in August/september, 1995. However, at the time of handing over of the flat to her, the lifts were not in operation. In this regard, she made representations to the concerned for making the lifts operational. It was only on June 13,1996 that the facility of lifts was made available to the residents of multi-storeyed Blocks of Type IV and V in NIHFW residential campus.
( 4 ) ON July 4,1996 at about 1. 10 p. m. Mrs. Mangia Kataria is said to have boarded the lift situated in her block. Whereafter she was not seen alive. Her body was discovered in the pit of the lift on July 4,1996 at about 9. 30 p. m. On July 8,1996 CPWD appointed a Committee consisting of Mr. K. Ananthanayan, Superintending Engineer (E) Delhi Central Electrical Circle -VII and Mr. N. Nagarajan, Superintending Engineer (E), Delhi Electrical Circle-VI, CPWD to consider and submit a report on the various points, namely, probable cause of the accident, specific lapses, if any, on the part of the operating staff, mal-functioning of the lift, if any, leading to the accident, measures to be taken for preventing such accidents in future and suggestions for improving the service. Though the Committee was formally appointed on July 8, 1996, the lift was inspected by both the members of the Committee on July 5, 1996 alongwith the representative from Police Station, Vasant Vihar, and M/s. Bharat Bijlee Ltd. who are the manufacturer and supplier of the lifts. The Executive Engineer, Assistant Engineer and Junior Engineer of E. Div. XIII of CPWD, who were Incharge of the lift were also present alongwith the Contractor, the fifth respondent, M/s. A. G. Enterprises. The lift was again inspected by the Committee on July 18,1996.
( 5 ) ON July 5,1996 the petitioner lodged a First Information Report with the Police Station Vasant Vihar in regard to the incident. On the same date, the FIR was registered under Section 304-A of the Indian Penal Code. After the investigation of the matter, charge sheet was filed against Mr. Ram Charitra Patel, Lift Operator and Mr. Ajit Sood, employee of the fifth respondent under section 304-A of the Indian Penal Code interalia with the allegation that the Lift Operator Mr. Ram Charitra Patel had no proper training for rescue operations and was not suitable for the job. Investigation revealed that the operation of the lift was
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