Compensation of Rs 10 lakh approved for parents of 2 minor boys who drowned in open tank, BMC informs Bombay HC

A division bench of Justices Gautam S Patel and Kamal R Khata was hearing the PIL it initiated suo motu on the April 1 incident of the drowning of two boys, aged 4 and 5, in a water tank in a civic garden which had no proper cover. It had questioned the BMC as to “what was the price of human life in the city”.

The court also asked the BMC to provide exact details on the demolition of the hutment of the boys’ family during a previous hearing. The court referred to a news report on the demolition and asked the BMC to file an affidavit as to whether the demolition was scheduled after giving due notice to the aggrieved family and what procedure was followed prior to demolishing the structure.

On Tuesday, the bench perused the BMC affidavit, which claimed that efforts for clearance of the site through the demolition of structures, including that of the aggrieved couple, had been taken since 2016-17, and notices were issued in that regard from February 2019 to January 2024.

The bench noted that it would separate the removal of encroachments from the principal issue in the suo motu plea and that the same need not be addressed further.

The bench noted that the father of the two boys, Manoj Wagari, who was present in the court, did not have a bank account.

The court asked Amicus Curiae Sharan Jagtiani, appointed to assist the court in the matter, to coordinate with the father as to how the compensation amount deposited can be withdrawn from the court.

It also noted that if Waghri wished to open a bank account, it could be a zero-balance account with any of the banks where the high court has an account, and the registry could assist him in opening it.