COMPENSATORY PROVISIONS FOR ELECTRICAL ACCIDENTS IN INDIA

This article is written by Deepali Gupta from Amity Law School, Noida

INTRODUCTION

Electricity has become so ingrained in modern life that it is difficult to fathom life without it. However, with the benefits and convenience of power comes risks. Electricity is a ubiquitous energy agent to which many employees in many jobs and sectors are exposed to daily as part of their employment. Moreover, it affects a large number of people in a variety of day-to-day tasks. Electricity use can cause morbidity and mortality, which can typically be avoided with basic safety precautions. Almost all electrocution deaths are unintentional, while homicides and suicides caused by electricity are rare.

Electrocution-related deaths have a distinct pattern all around the world. Electrocution-related deaths are uncommon in the Western world because of robust safety procedures and a high degree of knowledge. On the other hand, Suicides are reported in large numbers. In contrast, developing countries like India face significant number of electrocution-related deaths in comparison to suicide deaths.

ELECTROCUTION IN INDIA

Every day, thirty Indians are electrocuted to death. When creating preventive measures and formulating an effective, transparent, and consistent victim compensation process, the legislature, executive, regulators, and electrical supply corporations have usually turned a blind eye.

Electricity Act of 2003

The comprehensive code on energy (The Electricity Act of 2003) , effectively separated the executive from tariff setting, regulation, and some dispute resolution tasks, which were handed to the quasi-judicial body known as the Electricity Regulatory Commission. Regulators do not resolve consumer complaints, and accident victims are not compensated. Thus, this law just assured that consumers pay power utilities and that the private sector generating firms, including renewable energy companies, regularly following regulated and promised returns. The open-access customers, major industrial and commercial consumers beyond the regulatory control scope, are the biggest benefactors of this regime. Large generators and merchants compete for profitable customers, whereas small and marginal customers are left at the mercy of monopolized distribution utilities. New types of intermediaries, such as electricity trading businesses and energy exchanges, gained significantly from guaranteed trading margins without investing in infrastructure. Consumers readily pay for everything and are considered a non-essential part of the process.

COMPENSATORY PROVISIONS IN INDIA

Compensatory provisions in the Electricity Act of 2003

Small and marginal farmers who lost their lands to generate stations, substations, and transmission lines for energy projects, particularly renewable energy projects like wind and solar, are not compensated under the 2003 Act, which is regarded as the complete code on electricity. The vulnerability of victims who die every day as a result of electrical accidents is even more extreme. These landless agricultural labourers continue to be the most vulnerable victims of this phenomenon, and there is no existing compensatory provision for accidental deaths in this electricity Act of 2003, which is widely lauded as energy independence around the world.

Fatal Accidents Act,1855

The Fatal Accidents Act of 1855 was passed to compensate families for losses incurred due to an individual’s actionable wrongdoing. Section 1A of The Fatal Accidents Act, allows the victim’s family to sue for compensation for the losses caused by his death resulting from an actionable wrong. According to Section 1-A of the Fatal Accidents Act, 1855:

“Suit for compensation to the family of a person for loss occasioned to it by his death by actionable wrong.–– Whenever the death of a person shall be caused by wrongful act, neglect or default, and the act, neglect or default is such as would (if death had not ensued) have entitled the party injured to maintain an action and recover damages in respect thereof, the party who would have been liable if death had not ensued shall be liable to an action or suit for damages, notwithstanding the death of the person injured, and although the death shall have been caused under such circumstances as an amount in law to a felony or other crime.”

The victims are currently relegated to civil courts, where they must file civil claims and invoke the provisions of the Fatal Accidents Act, 1855, by paying an ad valorem court fee and filing civil litigation. This takes a long time and irritates the poor and helpless victims’ relatives.

In the case of Madhya Pradesh Electricity Board V. Shail Kumari and Ors, the Supreme Court dismissed an appeal filed by an electricity board in 2002, holding that the strict liability principle applies to the acts and omissions of an electricity supply utility in case of electrical accidents and that the electricity supply utility has not been provided with a fast track and cost-effective compensation adjuration mechanism.

STEPS NEED TO BE TAKEN

Periodical inspection of electric wires and transformers

The central electricity authority and chief electrical inspectors rarely inspect the electrical safety of these facilities before or after projects even though they have a statutory duty to ensure and certify the safety of power plants and machines. As a result, millions of people in India are at risk due to the sagging electric wires and malfunctioning current transformers. Thus, pre-commissioning and periodic electrical inspections are just a ruse. The officials bear much less personal responsibility, for their indifference and negligence. Every electrical accident may be traced back to the jurisdictional electrical inspector of the state government and the electrical engineer of the distribution firm, resulting in a dramatic reduction in mishaps.

Composition of special tribunal

The establishment of a specialized tribunal for awarding compensation is the second most crucial legislative reform in this regard. The best alternative may be to assign this authority to the MACTs (Motor Vehicle Accidents Tribunals) or to empower the regulatory commissions. What important is that, unless there are exceptions to the concept of strict liability established by case law, responsibility for all electrical accidents must be attributed to electrical inspectors of State Government-run electrical inspectorates and officials of power supply companies.

Uniformity of solatium

The intervention is to make sure that adequate and uniform solatium is awarded. Regulators in practically every state have established the solatium for deadly and non-fatal incidents. For example, in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, the figure has been set at five lakhs. However, it is set at four lakhs in Bihar, Telangana, and Odisha. The compensation amount does not follow a consistent pattern.

These solatium amounts are no-fault liability compensations in which the Supply Companies are not required to confess their liability but are instead required to compensate the grieving families immediately. However, most victims are either utterly unaware of the existence of the solatium or believe that once these amounts have been approved, they will be unable to obtain additional compensations. To add to the uncertainty, KPTCL (Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation), has issued a circular stating that once the victim receives the solatium (compensation), she is forbidden from seeking additional remedies. This oddity causes most victims to not get solatium and are left high and dry in their legal battles.

CONCLUSION

Electricity is one of the basic needs of human life. As every coin has two sides, it also comes with certain drawbacks. However, proper care and strict rules for maintaining electrical items can reduce electrocution cases in India.

To reduce electrocution cases, the government needs to take specific actions mentioned in the article. Every State Government and Distribution Company must be required to set up a helpline with a nodal person and an Ombudsman to ensure that compensation is paid out as soon as possible. Section 42 of the Electricity Act 2003 Act has already established an Ombudsman structure for the consumer grievance resolution. This can also apply to those who have been injured or lost their lives in an electrical accident. The victims must also be informed that this is only a solatium and that they have every right to use the available resources under the law. Electricity Accident Claims Tribunals must also be established, as previously said. Another section of legislation that would eliminate the ad valorem court cost for accident victims would be beneficial. An alternative legislative change would eliminate the payment of ad valorem court fees by accident victims, which would go a long way toward ensuring that claims receive justice.

These measures can help ensure that the big vision of an energy-independent India is found on a foundation of fair recompense.

REFERENCES

Madhya Pradesh Electricity Board Vs. Shail Kumari and Ors (AIR 2002 SC 551)

Shridhar Prabhu, Shocking Apathy: Compensation for Electrical Accidents In India, LiveLaw (25 Jun 2021 1:28 PM), https://www.livelaw.in/columns/electricity-act-2003-compensation-for-electrical-accidents-in-india