AHMEDABAD: Twenty-eight years after a man lost his life due to a footpath slab over a drain collapsing, a local court ordered the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) to pay compensation of Rs 3.62 lakh with interest to the victim’s children, holding that the body had been negligent about keeping the footpath in good condition.
The accident took place on September 29, 1994, when a 28-year-old scooter mechanic, Raju Parmar, was standing outside his garage on the AMC footpath with his two assistants. The footpath was built over a stormwater drain near Bhulabhai crossroads. The footpath slab gave way, and all three fell into the drain. Parmar died and his assistants suffered injuries.
Parmar’s family — his widow, father and two minor children — sought damages of Rs 6 lakh from AMC for its negligence in maintaining the footpath. They cited two earlier incidents of footpath slabs collapsing on the same stretch, and submitted that AMC had failed to exercise due diligence and had ignored timely repairs of the drain and the slabs over it, for which it was legally responsible.
The civic body claimed that its officials regularly inspect drainage lines, but as the city has spread over a vast area and there are thousands of streets and drainage lines, it is impossible to keep constant watch on every stormwater drain. It said there was no malafide intention by its officials in this case.
AMC also argued that Parmar was occupying the garage space without authorization and was using the footpath for his work unlawfully. His continual repair work had caused damage to the slab. Thus, AMC officials were not responsible because the accident had occurred due to the victim's own negligence. The AMC resorted to the legal bar on action against its officials under the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporation Act. However, the court refused to believe that the AMC officials had no role to play.
After hearing the case, city civil judge M A Bhatti said, “Upon overall appreciation of material on record, this court is of the view that the plaintiff succeeded in establishing that death of the victim was a result of negligence of the defendant (the AMC).” The victim’s widow and father have since passed away and his children have attained adulthood.
