Mr. Rajiv Narain Raina, J.: - In a tragic and heart rending accident caused by electrocution, a four year old child Raman on coming into contact with a naked 11KV transmission line passing over the roof of his father’s house built in village Sanoli Khurd, District Panipat has suffered as a consequence triple amputation of the limbs, a rare condition, leading to something even worse than 100% permanent disability.

2. The injured Raman has filed this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution through his father, Manoj Kumar claiming compensation from the respondents-Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (for short “the Nigam”) and the State of Haryana for loss of both arms and the left leg severed leaving stumps at a tender age with almost all avenues open to earn and support himself in the future shut and so also to be denied the small pleasures of growing up to manhood and to do ordinary things that children do, and left to face life completely dependent on others till he lives. He may never find a bride or start a family. He may never be able to feed himself both literally and metaphorically until the magic world of modern science intervenes through prosthetic limbs, robotics and futuristic stem cell technology at unforeseeable cost. The old proverb goes -God helps those who help themselves- but that may not be apt in this case, since this Court exists and exists to bring succour to the helpless, the downtrodden, the disabled and the invalid who are forsaken by destiny. To visualize and understand the magnitude of the plight of the petitioner his photographs are the best testimony of what is left of him and which are made part of the order as Appendix 1.

3. Notice of motion was issued on the petition by this Court on 26.7.2012. The Nigam has contested the case by filing a written statement. Injury by electrocution suffered on 3.11.2011 has not been disputed or that the child came in contact with an 11KV naked wire passing over the roof of the house built by the petitioner’s father in village Sanoli Khurd, District Panipat where he lives with his family. It is explained that the 11KV transmission line was erected and installed three decades ago then passing over agricultural fields. Over a period of time, as is the historical necessity, many constructions have come up outside the abadi deh or lal lakir of the village where the petitioner’s father constructed a house for his family about a decade ago where the unfortunate incident happened.

4. Of the cluster of electricity transmission lines which pass over the house of the petitioner from one electricity pole to the other, one of them hangs dangerously close to one corner of the roof. It has been transfixed with an insulator installed on an angle iron to hold it up and keep it out of harm’s way. To understand the situation nothing would serve better than the photograph of the insulator with the angle iron which is appended with this order as Appendix 2.

5. The house of the petitioner’s father is a shop-cum-residence where he works out from to do his spare part business. The house lies amidst a large number of dwellings which have come up apparently without legal sanction or permission of any competent authority or before informing the electricity department-the Nigam- power corporation respondent, that the passing wires may injure man being drawn much prior in time to the coming of the affected family on the land.

6. It has been explained in the written statement filed by the SDO (Operations) Sub Division, UHBVNL, Chhajpur, District Panipat that the insulator/angle iron seen in the photograph (P-4 to the petition and Appendix 2 to this order) was not installed by any employee of the electricity department. The father of the petitioner is blamed squarely in installing the insulator himself on the edge of the roof of the house to keep at bay the high tension live wire so as not to touch brick and mortar. Therefore, there is no negligence on the part of the depart