The
Supreme Court has ordered a compensation of Rs 88.73 lakh to a Bangalore girl
student who suffered from meningoencephalitis (brain fever) due to the
negligence of teachers during her school tour in North India. This incident
happened in the year 2006 when the girl was studying in class IX. The apex
court found that due to the disease, the girl was deprived of leading a normal
life and her marriage prospects were also lost.
In
fact, the State Consumer Commission has asked the school management to pay Rs
88.73 lakh as compensation to the girl student. But on the appeal of the school
management, the National Consumer Commission reduced the compensation amount to
Rs 50 lakh. The decision of the National Consumer Commission was challenged by
the aggrieved party in the Supreme Court.
A
bench of Justice Navin Sinha and Justice R Subhash Reddy allowed the appeal
filed by Kum Akshata against the order of the National Consumer Disputes
Redressal Commission and restored the compensation amount (88.73 lakh) as decided
by the State Consumer Commission.
The
top court observed that the National Commission did not recognize that the
amount of compensation was exorbitant, yet it reduced the amount of
compensation. The top court has said that the decision taken by the National
Commission without any facts, discussion or reasoning is arbitrary and
unsustainable.
The
Supreme Court found that the complainant was then 14 years old and was still
studying in Class IX in an educational institution in Bangalore. In December 2006,
she along with other school students and teachers went on an educational tour
to several places in North India. During the tour she fell ill with a viral
fever, diagnosed as meningoencephalitis.
Doctors
said that if she had been given timely attention and medical help, she could
have recovered easily. Eventually he had to be taken to Bangalore in an air
ambulance. He has been in bed since then. His memory is gone. She can't even
speak. And there is no chance of him recovering. He is deprived of a normal
life and the possibilities of marriage despite being of marriageable age.
--------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment