HC seeks reply from Centre, UP govt on PIL seeking CBI probe

The Allahabad High Court today asked the central and the state governments to file their replies to a PIL seeking a CBI probe into a boiler explosion at an NTPC plant in Rae Bareili earlier this month in which at least 34 people died.
Vinod Kumar, a high court lawyer, requested the court through the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that the accident be investigated either by the Central Bureau of Investigation or a retired high court judge.
In the PIL, Kumar demanded that a "Standard Maintenance Policy" be framed by the governments for accidents at sensitive establishments so that there was no discrimination in the payment of compensation to the victims.

He has also sought a compensation of Rs 20 lakh for the kin of those who died, Rs 10 lakh to those who were seriously wounded, and Rs 2 lakh to those who sustained minor injuries in the blast at the plant in Unchahar in Rae Bareili district.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Dilip Babasaheb Bhosale and Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta listed the next hearing in the matter after three weeks.
On November 1, a blaast ripped through the NTPC plant, killling at least 34 people, which made it the country's worst industrial disaster in eight years.
The 1,550-MW plant supplies electricity to nine states, according to officials, and employs around 870 people.