After a prolonged fight of over a decade, the Gujarat High Court upheld an order issued by the District Court of Junagadh and ordered Paschim Gujarat Vij Company Limited (PGVCL) to compensate the parents of the boy who died of electrocution in 2012.

Justice JC Doshi of the Gujarat High Court on July 15 dismissed the second appeal admission of PGVCL and ordered a compensation of ₹1.9 lakh with 9% interest to the parents of the deceased minor boy.

The case dates back to April 26, 2012, when the victim accidentally came in contact with exposed dangling wires of PGVCL while working in a field in Junagadh district.

An Civil Court of Junagadh denied compensation to the minor’s guardian. 

The parents then went to the Junagadh Principal District Judge, who approved the compensation to them for their son’s death on Mar 8, 2019.

Dissatisfied with this order, the PGVCL appealed to the Gujarat High Court, raising legal points that according to Rule 77 of the Indian Electricity Rules-1956, the power line should pass above a height of 6.1 metres.

Moreover, Rule 77 applies mainly in the case of streets in cities and not in agricultural fields. They argued that in this case the negligence of the minor caused the incident and he came in contact with the 11 KV power line and became a victim of an electric current. In this, the applicant is not guilty of any fault or liability of the electricity company.

However, Justice JC Doshi dismissed the appeal of the PGVCL and held the electricity company responsible, ordering it to provide the compensation to the parents.

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