Safety of labourers is duty of property occupant: Court

It is the duty of the occupant of a property to ensure necessary precautions were taken for workers' safety, a Delhi court has observed and directed the owner of an under-construction building to pay compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the parents of a labourer, who was electrocuted.
The court held that the property owner was negligent in maintaining due care and he was expected to have reasonably foreseen the harm that could have been caused by the live overhead wire which was hanging low on the premises.
"All the eyewitnesses (labourers) to the incident have stated that they had repeatedly informed defendant Govind Singh Chauhan about the overhead live electricity wire and requested him to put a tape around the same despite which no steps were taken by him in this regard.

"Even otherwise, I may observe that it is the duty of the occupant of the building where the construction work is being done to ensure that necessary precautions and security measures are taken so that the labourers who are working in the building do not suffer any harm to their lives," Additional District judge Kamini Lau said.
The court passed the judgment while awarding Rs 5 lakh compensation to the parents of 25-year-old Deepak Mandal, who was working at the under-construction building of Govind Singh Chauhan in Sarita Vihar here and died in July, 2005 due to electric shock and burn injuries after coming in contact with a live wire hanging at the premises.

The court was hearing a petition filed by Mandal's parents seeking compensation from Chauhan.

It rejected the contention of Chauhan that neither Mandal was working at the building nor was he owner of the property.
The court said though Chauhan had desperately tried to wriggle out of the situation claiming that he was a tenant on the premises but he failed to give details of the actual owner which showed that the property belonged to him.
It said Chauhan was under a legal duty to take due care of the workers/employees who were doing the construction work on the premises under his occupation and control.

"The loss of life of Mandal was a direct and proximate cause of negligence on the part of Chauhan to maintain due care and I hold that the plaintiffs who are the parents of the deceased are entitled to the compensation," the court said.
The court said even after being informed by the labourers about the hanging wire, Chauhan did not get it fixed and it was his duty to ensure that necessary precautions in the form of covering the wire with insulation tape or by raising it to a height were done.