ORDER :

Gannamaneni Ramakrishna Prasad, J.

Heard Sri P. Prabhakar Rao, learned Counsel for the Writ Petitioners and Sri S. Abdul Matheen, learned Counsel appearing on behalf of Sri V.V. Satish, learned Standing Counsel for APCPDCL.

2. The present Writ Petition is filed seeking the following relief:

“For the reasons stated in the accompanying affidavit, it is therefore prayed that this Hon’ble Court may be pleased to issue a Writ, order or direction more particularly one in the nature of Writ of Mandamus directing the respondents to pay a sum of Rs.5,00,000/- to the petitioners towards damages and compensation for the death of the husband of the 1st petitioner i.e., Penumuchu Madhusudhana Rao on 24-12-2011 due to electrocution arising out of negligence and carelessness of the respondents and to pass such other order or orders in the interest of Justice.”

3. The facts as projected by the Ld. Counsel for the Writ Petitioners are that Petitioner No.1 is the wife of late Sri Penumuchu Madhusudhana Rao; that Petitioner Nos.2 to 4 are the daughters of Petitioner No.1; that the husband of Petitioner No.1, namely Sri Penumuchu Madhusudhana Rao (hereinafter referred to as “the deceased”), met with an accidental death due to electrocution for which the present Writ Petition is filed seeking compensation from Respondent No.1; that it is stated in the Affidavit filed in support of the Writ Petition that the family of the deceased owned agricultural lands; that they also used to take lands on lease for cultivating Commercial crops such as Cotton, Chillis and Tobacco for their livelihood; that the deceased was the sole breadwinner of the family; that the deceased and Petitioner No.1 were blessed with four daughters; that the deceased, through his hard work, used to get a minimum income of Rs.2,00,000/- per annum, including all expenses incurred on agricultural activities; that on 24.12.2011, on the fateful day, the deceased went to fetch drinking water from the nearby Sivalayam Temple at about 4:00 a.m.; that while proceeding on the road, the deceased came into contact with a snapped live electric wire (Pole No.SSS C1/S 527791), which was managed by the Official Respondents herein; and that upon coming into contact with the live electric wire, the husband of Petitioner No.1 (the deceased) had met with an instant death.

4. It is further submitted by the Ld. Counsel for the Writ Petitioner that one Sri Penumuchu Koteswara Rao, who is the brother of the deceased had lodged a Complaint/FIR No.233/2011 on 24.12.2011; that an Inquest was conducted on 24.12.2011 (Ex.P.4); that the Post Mortem Certificate issued by the Civil Assistant Surgeon, Area Hospital, Nandigama dated 24.12.2011 would disclose that the deceased had died due to 'Respiratory arrest due to electric shock'. It is stated by the Ld. Counsel for the Writ Petitioner that the death of the deceased occurred due to gross negligence on the part of Respondent No.1 and that while attending the agricultural work, the deceased would have worked up to 70 years of age and probably even thereafter; that the Writ Petitioners herein (wife and four daughters of the deceased) are entirely dependent on the earnings of the deceased. The Writ Petitioners contended that the deceased had a net income of Rs.2,00,000/- per annum out of agricultural operations and that even if 1/3^rd is deducted towards his personal expenses, the remaining amount of Rs.1,33,300/- for the remaining 12 years (assuming that the deceased would continue to work up to 70 years of age), the total amount would come to about Rs.16,80,000/-. He would therefore submit that the Writ Petitioners are entitled to this amount due to negligent act of the Respondents. It is also stated that while the income for a period of 12 years would aggregate to Rs.16,18,000/-, the Writ Petitioners restricted their claim to Rs.5,00,000/- only.

5. Despite the fact that the Writ Petition has been filed on 26.12.2012, the Official Respondent Nos. 1 to 3 herein has