Pay Rs 20 lakh compensation for drain deaths in Ghazipur, Delhi High Court tells DDA

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday asked the DDA to pay Rs 20 lakh as compensation to the legal heirs of the mother-son duo who died after falling into a waterlogged open drain here in July.

The counsel for the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) initially said it was ready to give Rs 15 lakh as compensation to the victims' family but a bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan nudged it to pay Rs 20 lakh instead as it was the "norm".

"Counsel for the DDA said without prejudice to its rights and contentions and without admitting any liability on its part, as a humanitarian gesture, it is willing to pay Rs 20 lakh to the legal heirs of the deceased, namely Tanuja and Priyansh," recorded the bench, also comprising Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, in the order.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) plea filed by Jhunnu Lal Srivastava, a resident of Mayur Vihar Phase 3, for action against the contractor and DDA officials for their alleged negligence that led to the death of the woman and her three-year-old son.

Tanuja (22) and her son Priyansh drowned in the half-open under-construction drain in a waterlogged street in east Delhi's Ghazipur area as heavy rains lashed Delhi-NCR in the evening of July 31.

The Delhi Police submitted that a draft charge sheet has been prepared in the criminal case related to the deaths and the final charge sheet will be filed after it receives sanction from the competent authorities to prosecute the officials responsible.

The police's counsel had earlier told the court that it was a DDA contractor who had left the drain uncovered at the site of the incident after undertaking some work there.

Considering the stand taken by the authorities, the court observed that no further orders were called for and closed the proceedings in the matter.

It also took on record MCD's assurance that all the repair, redevelopment and construction work in the area where the incident took place will be completed by December.

The court, after perusing the photographs of the drains, said the site was "still quite dirty" and asked the civic body to get it cleaned as "dengue is spreading in Delhi".

Last month, the court had pulled up the DDA over the death of mother-son duo, as it noted that the officials did not "supervise" the work done there by the contractor who allegedly left certain portions of the drain uncovered.

It had then asked the DDA counsel to seek instructions on payment of compensation to the victims' family before the next date of hearing.

Earlier, police had told the court that an FIR was registered for offences under section 106 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for "causing death by negligence".