Swathi's parents file for 3 Crore compensation!!
Way back in 2015, a techie Swathi was brutally murdered with a machete in broad daylight in Chennai's Nungambakkam railway station. Besides the shock that none came with the help of the dying girl, there was no railway police personnel arriving at the location for more than hour since the incident.
To fight against the southern railway's negligence, Swathi's parents Ranganayaki and Santhanagopalakrishnan have filed a petition in Madras High court, demanding a compensation of 3 Crores. However their fight is not for money, and it's for anyone impacted this way, to claim, says their counsel Kuberan.
Senior counsel Raja says that whenever there's a case of government negligence, the High court gives the compensation, depending on the case, and when one files a suit, it might take 10-15 years to the High court, he added.
IPC section 304, which is all about death by negligence is an underused area of law, and in India, very few cases are filed against government authorities due to the dragging nature of the cases for 2-3 years.
This writ was filed by Swathi's parents last year itself, and however high court registry delayed numbering the case. However, the high court came down heavily on the registry for Acting like a court and intimated that Railway tribunals can take up cases of claims only below 8 lakhs. The court also stated numerous examples, before finally concluding that the constitutional court can examine acts of state if they pertain to the public domain.