The single judge bench of Justice Pankaj Purohit of the Uttarakhand High Court in the case of Managing Director, Uttarakhand Power Corporation Ltd. vs. the State of Uttarakhand held that the U.P.C.L. must maintain its electricity line, which is going through the habitation.
Brief facts:
The factual matrix of the case is that the informant’s daughter, aged about 14 years old got injured due to the electrocution, which she received when she went to the roof of the house. Thereafter, she was immediately taken to the hospital where her right hand was declared completely damaged and her left hand also suffered severe injuries. Furthermore, the FIR was filed only against the owner of the house, however, the trial court passed the order under Section 319 of the criminal procedure code summoning the U.P.C.L.
Contentions of the Applicant:
The learned counsel appearing on behalf of the Applicant contended that the trial court must have more than a prima facie case to summon the applicant, U.P.C.L., because there is no evidence on record that is sufficient to summon the U.P.C.L. as an accused to appear for trial.
Observations of the Court:
The Hon’ble Court observed that the U.P.C.L. is responsible for maintaining the electricity line that runs through the residence. The record does not indicate that the U.P.C.L. has ever examined the house through its officials.
It was furthermore observed that an F.I.R. was filed against the Electricity Department, however following an investigation, only the owner of the residence and not any U.P.C.L. officials were named in the charge sheet. The trial court observed that the U.P.C.L. attempted to hold the owner of the home responsible for any adverse incident in the future. However, by doing so, it cannot escape its legal obligation to keep the lines in good repair.
Based on these considerations, the Hon’ble Court was of the view that it can’t be said that there was no negligence on the part of U.P.C.L as U.P.C.L is the main functionary to manage the electricity network and summoned the U.P.C.L as an accused.
The decision of the court:
With the above direction, the Hon’ble Court dismissed the application.
Case Title: Managing Director, Uttarakhand Power Corporation Ltd. vs. State of Uttarakhand
Coram: Hon’ble Mr Justice Pankaj Purohit
Case No.: Criminal Misc. Application No.1240 of 2023
Advocate for the Applicant: Adv. Piyush Garg
Advocate for the State: Adv. Dinesh Chauhan
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