Negligence under Section 304A of IPC requires thorough investigation, even if initial reports suggest no wrongdoing by officials.

CAV ORDER

The petitioners are before this Court calling in question registration of a crime in Crime No.601 of 2023 registered for offence punishable under Section 304A of the IPC pending before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM), Bengaluru Rural, Bengaluru. The 1st petitioner is the Executive Engineer and the 2nd petitioner is the Assistant Executive Engineer both working in BESCOM at Whitefield Division.

2. Heard Sri D R Ravishankar, learned senior counsel appearing for the petitioners and Sri B N Jagadeesh, learned Additional State Public Prosecutor appearing for respondent No.1.

3. Facts, in brief, germane are as follows:-

It is the case of the petitioners that on 19-11-2023 a complaint comes to be registered by the 2nd respondent/ complainant alleging that the complainant, his wife who was 23 years old and his daughter who was 9 months old were returning from Tamilnadu. After alighting at Silk Board they boarded BMTC bus, alighted near Whitefield ITPL Main Road and were walking on the footpath. When they reached Hope Farm, the wife of the complainant who was carrying his daughter aged 9 months old comes in contact with the live wire which was broken and lying on the street. The wife of the complainant due to electric shock of live wire died on the spot along with the baby. Therefore, the complaint comes to be registered against several officers, two of whom are the petitioners, officers of BESCOM, accused No. 1 is the Executive Engineer and accused No.3 is the Assistant Executive Engineer working at Whitefield Division. The other accused are the Assistant Engineer, accused No.2; Junior Engineer, accused No.4 and Station Operator, accused No.5.

4. The said incident of death of the wife and the daughter of the complainant became a hue and cry in the locality. It is then, the 1st petitioner was transferred and the 2nd petitioner was placed under suspension. The 1st petitioner’s transfer became subject matter of challenge before this Court in Writ Petition No.27441 of 2023. A coordinate Bench of this Court sets the transfer order aside holding that the transfer was contrary to the Government order dated 7-06-2013. Likewise, the 2nd petitioner calls the order of suspension in question before this Court in Writ Petition No.27348 of 2023. The suspension order also comes to be quashed by the very coordinate Bench. After quashment of those two orders, challenge is now laid to the crime so registered against the petitioners on the score that observations in the orders of quashment of transfer and suspension would enure to the benefit of the petitioners, to hold that for the death of the wife and the child of the complainant, the petitioners cannot be held responsible and . therefore, Section 304A of the IPC cannot be invoked.

5. The learned senior counsel appearing for the petitioners would vehemently contend that in terms of roles and responsibilities and the job chart, the petitioners have nothing to do with maintenance of wires. At best it could be the Assistant Engineer who may be responsible and the petitioners are Executive Engineer and Assistant Executive Engineer. It is his submission that no wrong doing can be directly attributed to the petitioners. He would place heavy reliance upon the report of Electrical Inspectorate which holds that it has happened due to high impendence surface for which no wrong doing can be directly attributed to these petitioners. He therefore contends that ingredients of Section 304A of the IPC are not made out in the case at hand. He would seek quashment of registration of crime in Crime No.601 of 2023.

6. Per contra, the learned Additional State Public Prosecutor would refute the submissions to contend that the matter is still at the stage of investigation. The role, responsibility or act allowing the live wire on the street, upon which the wife and the child of the complainant trampled upon, is attributable to some officers, five of whom are named as accused. Everybody cannot wash