The Kerala High Court on Friday apologised to the family of the Paravur youth who was killed in a road accident at Palarivattom in the city on Thursday.
Passing an order, Justice Devan Ramachandran said the court was hanging its head in shame. The deceased K.L. Yedulal was hit by a speeding lorry as he fell from his motorcycle while trying to negotiate the pothole.
“The apology may not be of any use to the family. But at least they should know that the people are with them. The young man worked with a food delivery company to support his family. His mother is reported to be a cancer patient,” the judge orally observed.
It pained the court very much as the death occurred when it was considering a case related to the filling up of potholes. No official had ever pointed out that such a pothole existed on the road, he said.
“How many more precious lives will have to be lost for authorities to wake up and repair roads and fill up potholes and craters on roads. The officials responsible for the upkeep of roads shall be on the road and not remain in their air-conditioned offices.”
The court said it could not trust the officials and other government agencies in the case any more, as they repeatedly maintained that the roads were properly maintained and potholes filled.
Amici curiae
The court appointed three lawyers, S. Krishna, Vinod Bhat, and I. Deepak, as amici curiae in the case. They were asked to inspect all city roads and report on their condition to the court. The amici curiae will act as the eyes and ears of the court, the judge said.
Advocate General C.P. Sudhakara Prasad said the District Collector had ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident and action would be taken shortly. When Mr. Prasad informed the court that the State government was willing to pay a compensation of ₹10 lakh to the family of the victim, the judge wondered how much compensation would the State pay.
On some roads, there were no slabs over drains and one might have to hear the news that pedestrians fell into them.
There were potholes on the road near the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium, which was used by school students and others. There was an electric post in a slanting position near Palarivattom, which could come down any time and fatally injure people.
“Has anyone noted it and acted on it,” asked the judge.
A senior government pleader informed the court that the issue of the electric post was brought to the notice of Kochi Metro Rail Ltd.
The court posted the case for December 20.
Suspended
The Public Works Department (PWD) has suspended from service four engineers of its Roads wing on charge of dereliction of duty. The suspended officials are Susan Thomas and E.P. Sainaba, assistant executive engineers in charge of the Roads and Road-Maintenance wings of the PWD, Ernakulam, and P.K. Deepa and K.N. Surjith, assistant engineers of the department.
