Bombay High Court orders Maharashtra govt to pay Rs 10 lakh relief to widow of man killed by wild boar

The Bombay High Court on Monday directed the Maharashtra government to pay Rs 10 lakh compensation to a woman whose husband died after a wild boar rammed into his motorcycle noting that the state is obligated to protect wildlife and its citizens from any injury caused by wild animalsA division bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Gauri Godse passed the order on a petition filed by Anjana Redij a resident of Ratnagiri district seeking direction to the state government to pay her compensation for her husbands death due to attack by wild boarThe bench in its order noted that it was the duty of the concerned officer of the state government to protect wild animals and not allow them to wander outside the restricted safety zoneSimilarly as a corollary duty it is also the obligation cast upon the concerned officers to protect citizens from any injuries by wild animals Thus it is a twin obligation of the state government The first to protect the wildlife wild animals and the second to protect humans from any injuries caused by any wild animal the court saidIt is thus an obligation of the state government to protect lives of citizens guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution it saidAlso Read Why are you seeking to encroach on others rights Bombay HC asks Jain bodiesThe court directed the government to pay Rs 10 lakh compensation to the petitioner within three months along with a 6 per cent interest from 2019 till dateThe bench also directed that a sum of Rs 50000 be paid to the woman by the state government towards litigation costsAs per the plea Arun Redij who was a mechanic died in February 2018 after a wild boar rammed into his motorcycle when he was travelling back from work at nightThe petitioner then made a representation to the regional forest officer seeking compensation under a government resolution dated July 11 2011 which provides for grant of compensation in case of death of a person due to attack by a wild animalHer representation was rejected on the ground that the accident and the death of a person ought to have been informed to the nearest forest officer within 48 hoursThe court however refused to accept the ground on which the petitioners claim was rejected and said this would not absolve the state government from its liability to pay compensationThe governments approach was disheartening it observedThe bench noted that the police had conducted spot panchnama in which it was recorded that the accident was caused because of a wild boarIt was the duty of the said police station to inform the nearest forest office regarding the accident It was indeed a duty of the said police station to intimate the same to the concerned nearest forest office the court saidThe bench also noted that the documents show that there was a direct nexus between the attack by wild boar and the accident that caused the victims deathFrom the panchanama it is very clear that except for the attack by wild boar there is no other cause for the accident it saidIt is not disputed that the human life is lost in the attack by wild boar which caused the accident Thus the reasons given in the impugned communication regional forest officer order are illegal and unjustified the court saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever