Karnataka High Court refuses to let BESCOM officer 'off hook' for deaths after transformer burst, says compensation does not mask dereliction of duty

The Karnataka High Court in the case Mahantesh S Nagur AND State of Karnataka&ANR observed and has refused to quash the criminal proceedings which are initiated against a Junior Engineer in BESCOM, after a father and her daughter died by electrocution due to a transformer burst on a road.

A single judge bench headed by Justice M Nagaprasanna in the case observed and has dismissed the petition filed by Mahanthesh S Nagur.

The court in the case stated that, 'there are several complaints, before the fateful day, in order to rectify the defect in the transformer. On investigation, the Police, have appended those complaints to the charge sheet. These are undisputed facts. The prime facie negligence is writ large qua the petitioner, or other accused in the case at hand. There being no warrant in order to interfere with the ongoing trial against the petitioner.

As per the case of prosecution on March 23, 2022, when Shivaraj and his daughter were returning home on a two-wheeler, a BESCOM transformer beside the road-side burst and due to the burst, the oil spilled over from the transformer caught fire and directly fell on Shivaraj and his daughter; both of whom sustained grave burn injuries. Thus, they were shifted to Victoria hospital where they succumbed to injuries.