NHRC recommends, Raj Government agrees to pay relief of Rs 30 lakh in the case of electrocution of bus passengers

New Delhi: The National Human Rights Commission, India setting aside the no negligence contention of the Rajasthan Government recommended that it pay Rs. 5 lakh each to the Next of Kin (NoK) of the six passengers who died due to electrocution when their bus came into contact with an unguarded high voltage wire in the Jalore district on 16th January, 2021. The State Government has accepted it and is making the payment of the relief to the Next of Kin of the deceased victims.

The Commission had taken cognizance of the incident based on a complaint and called for the reports from the Electricity Department of the Government of Rajasthan. Based on the material on record, it concluded that there was negligence on the part of the Electricity Department in fixing the electricity poles on the road. There was the absence of guarding the 11 KV electricity connection which was in contravention to Section 73 of Central Electricity Regulation 2010.

In response to the Commission’s notice to show cause why relief of Rs 5 lakh each to the NoK of the victims should not be recommended to be paid, the state government had maintained that there was no negligence on the part of its Electricity Department and hence, the question of relief did not arise. Citing, various reasons among others, it said that the incident did not happen due to the breakage of wire and absence of guarding but because of tampering with the electrical system by the conductor while guiding the bus from a point where there was not much movement of vehicles. That is why there was no guarding of the 11 KV electricity connection below the said line. It was also stated that even the FIR lodged with the Jalore Police Station on 16.1.2021 ended up in the final report and was also accepted by the court. Hence, they were not liable for providing any compensation in the matter.

However, the Commission held that the electrical department could not forego its liability given in section 73 of Central Electricity Authority Regulation 2010, which categorically states that the authority shall specify safety requirements for construction operation and maintenance of electrical plants and electric lines. Accordingly, it reiterated the recommendation for the payment of relief to the NoK of the six deceased and called for a compliance report along with proof of payment. The State Government has informed that it has paid relief to the NoK of some of the victims as recommended by the Commission, and the remaining are also in the process of being paid relief.