Death due to falling of roadside tree   

HC rejects Pattan family’s plea for Rs 30 lakh compensation  

Srinagar, Apr 23: The High Court of J&K and Ladakh has rejected a petition filed by a family from Baramulla district’s Pattan area, seeking Rs 30 lakh compensation for the death of their daughter due to falling off a poplar tree amid a windstorm in the Pattan area of Baramulla district in 2012.
 “The trees which were growing on the side of the road are not in non-natural use of the land or a hazardous activity to attract the principle of strict liability,” a bench of Justice Sindhu Sharma said, adding, “The wind storm was an act of nature and negligence is not attributable to the respondents (authorities).

This apart, the court said, the issue is whether there was a wind storm on the fateful day and same resulted in the falling of the tree on the girl and whether the authorities were negligent in maintaining these trees and had not removed the dead and half broken tree, “are all questions of fact which cannot be considered by this Court in these proceedings.” Subsequently, the court dismissed the petition.
In its plea, the family from Pattan in Baramulla district had submitted that their 18-year-old daughter was walking on the road on 20 March 2012 when, due to heavy winds, a Populus tree fell on her and injured her critically along with some other persons. She was shifted to hospital (SKIMS) by the relatives but succumbed to words three days later, they said.
They had submitted that the Public Works Department (PWD) failed in maintaining the trees, which were old and also in a half-broken condition.
These trees, they said, were negligently managed by the authorities as a result they broke down and fell on the girl.
They claimed that due to “negligence and carelessness”, the rule of “Strict Liability”, which envisages that many activities which are hazardous and may constitute a constant danger to the person and property of others may be allowed to be carried on but subject to the safety measures, is attracted.
The family contended that the papulas trees at the roadside were being managed in a negligent manner by PWD as “there was no pruning and removal of the dry, dead and half broken trees which resulted in the accident.”
On the other hand, the authorities said that on the fateful day, there was huge storm which resulted in uprooting and breaking of many trees throughout the Kashmir Valley, therefore, the damage caused was due to “natural calamity i.e., an act of God.”
The authorities said that trees were on the road side and did not fall within the dangerous activity or non-natural use of land and as such the liability on them in this regard was very limited.
This apart, they said, the sudden and act of nature which could not be foreseen and had resulted in falling of the trees would not make them liable to pay compensation.