IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Date of decision: 16.03.2026 Anshu ...Petitioner Versus State of Haryana and others ...Respondents

1. The date when the judgment is reserved 2 4 .02.2026 2. The date when the judgment is pronounced 16.03.2026 3. The date when the judgment is uploaded on the 16.03.2026 website

4. Whether only operative part of the judgment is Full pronounced or whether the full judgment is pronounced

5. The delay, if any, of the pronouncement of full Not Applicable judgment, and reasons thereof CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE HARSIMRAN SINGH SETHI HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE VIKAS SURI Present: Mr. Anil Kumar Bhardwaj, Advocate for the petitioner.

Mr. Aman Mittal, DAG, Haryana.

Mr. Deepak Balyan, Advocate with Mr. Vicky Chauhan, Advocate for respondent Nos.2 to 5.

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VIKAS SURI, J.

1. The present petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India has been filed by the petitioner - Anshu, who is stated to have suffered permanent disability, at the tender age of about 6 years, as a result of coming in contact with a 11 kV Nawadi DS line, operated and maintained by respondent No.3-distribution licensee, namely Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as ‘Nigam’).

1.1 Through the instant petition, the petitioner, inter alia, seeks award of compensation to the tune of `2 Crore, besides challenging the instructions/policy dated 15.07.2019 (Annexure P-8) to the extent it prescribes uniform norms for providing compensation to all categories of victims of accidents caused by electrocution, including children, and to the extent it applies the provisions of the Employees’ Compensation Act, 1923 (for short, ‘Act of 1923’) to children of age less than 16 years; and has also impugned the order dated 13.02.2023 (Annexure P-10) whereby compensation of `18,92,311/- was sanctioned under the supra instructions, to the extent that it does not include compensation under the heads like future prospects, inflation, past and future medical expenses, mental harassment, physical pain, loss of marriage prospects, expenses for exclusive caretaker, etc.

2. Succinctly, a High Tension (HT)/ High Voltage (HV) (11000 volts) electric line (wire) passes in front of the house of the petitioner. Such HT/HV lines are used to distribute power from sub- stations to local, pole-mounted transformers, which step the voltage down for consumption by homes and businesses. The father of the petitioner had requested the authorities a number of times to shift the High Tension (HT) 11 kV line away from his house, however, no heed was paid to the said requests. Even the coverings of the said wires, owing to weathering, were damaged over a period of time and the request to the department to replace the same did not bear any fruit.

2.1 On 25.01.2022 at around 3:00 p.m., the petitioner was playing on the terrace of the house. She heard a sound, which lured her towards the balcony; and the petitioner ran towards the sound’s source, i.e. towards edge of the balcony. The aforesaid 11 kV HT line ran in front of the house of the petitioner, almost touching the grill of the house. Most unfortunately, the petitioner came in dangerous proximity to the said high tension wire running precariously close to the balcony and suffered severe burn injuries. Thereafter, the petitioner was immediately taken to Soni Devi Hospital, Neemrana, Rajasthan, from where, after being provided initial treatment, she was referred to PGIMER, Chandigarh on 26/27.01.2022 and was admitted in the emergency ward on 27.01.2022 at around 5.00 PM. The nature of injuries received by the petitioner were such that during her treatment at PGIMER, her right arm was disarticulated/amputated from her right shoulder and there was contracture of her left hand’s ring and little fingers. Resultantly, on account of amputation, the petitioner suffered 92% permanent disability, being a case of locomotor disability. The disability certificate dated 20.08.2022 issued by the Medical Authori