The Delhi High Court has directed the Delhi government and the Delhi Jal Board to jointly compensate parents of a 10-year-old boy who died after falling into an unsecured sewer pit in northeast Delhi in 2014.

Justice Mini Pushkarna observed that the tragedy reflected a "fundamental breakdown of civic governance" and a blatant failure of public authorities to ensure public safety.

“The present is a classic case where the state authorities have displayed apathy towards the death of a child by trying to shift burden to each other, despite apparent glaring negligence in not securing the site which was a source of potential danger on account of open pits that had been allowed to remain uncovered and unguarded.

When such incidents happen where young children lose their lives due to failure of the government authorities to provide for adequate safety measures, the same is a pointer to the fundamental breakdown of the civic governance and blatant failure of the civic body in its duty of care. Such infractions constitute violation of the fundamental right to life, and have to be addressed with utmost seriousness,” the judge expressed.

The Court awarded compensation of ₹16.92 lakh, along with 9% simple interest from the date of filing of the petition. It further clarified that while Delhi Government and DJB must satisfy the award, they would be at liberty to recover the amount from the other respondents in appropriate proceedings.

The petition was filed by the parents of one Mohd. Nazim, who died on September 27, 2014, after falling into a deep sewer pit while works relating to the Delhi Jal Board's interceptor sewer project were underway.

The parents sought compensation, alleging that the authorities and agencies involved in the project had failed to secure the site or provide adequate warning signs and barricades.

The project involved multiple agencies. While DJB was the principal employer, Engineers India Limited (EIL) was engaged as the project management consultant, and M/s DSCL-Fengshun-Wabag Consortium was executing the work. Throughout the proceedings, the respondents attempted to attribute liability to one another.

The Court noted that instead of accepting responsibility for ensuring safety at the site, every authority sought to shift the blame.

The authorities opposed the petition on several grounds, including that it was filed nearly five years after the incident.

The Court however held that the plea of delay could not defeat a claim involving violation of fundamental rights, particularly where the petitioners belonged to an economically weaker section and had been pursuing the criminal proceedings arising from the incident.

It added that constitutional courts cannot ignore the realities faced by grieving parents who lose a child due to negligence of public authorities.

“The pain, trauma, and financial distress cannot be measured in mere legal timelines,” the Court said and ordered compensation.

Appearance: Mr. Kartik Venu, Mr. R Jude Rohit and Mr. Arjan Ajai Singh, Advocates for Petitioners; Mr. Raghvendra Upadhyay, Panel Counsel, GNCTD with Ms. Purnima Jain, Ms. Shilpa Taneja and Mr. Madhur Yadav, Advocates. Mr. Hilal Haider and Ms. Neha Tiwari, Advocates for DJB Mr. Abhimanyu Garg, Ms. Preety Makkar and Mr. Vishal Yadav, Advocates for R-3, 4 and 6. Mr. Vineet Tayal & Ms. Monalika Chaudhary, Advocates for R-7 for Respondents

Case title: Mohd. Neejam And Anr. v. The State, Govt. Of Nct Of Delhi And Ors.

Case no.: W.P.(C) 12566/2019

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