In a significant ruling, the Orissa High Court mandated that Puri Municipality compensate the family of a young person who passed away from a dog bite by Rs 10 lakh.
The order was issued by the High Court during the hearing of a petition related to a 2016 Puri case in which a four-year-old child was mauled by a pack of stray dogs.
“The Municipality had submitted an affidavit saying there is no provision in the Municipality Act to provide compensation to the victim’s family. However, the Court anyway ruled that the Municipality should pay Rs 10 lakh compensation to the family of the deceased child,” Rajkishore Swain, the counsel of the petitioner said.
“The court took cognizance of the Municipality Act and Animal Birth Control Act under which there are provisions to take action against the civic bodies if they falter in controlling stray animals in the cities,” Swain added.
“I had filed a PIL in the Orissa High Court after four stray dogs mauled the child to death. I wanted the government to compensate the family of the child for their loss,” the petitioner said.
It is important to note that stray dogs in the state are becoming a bigger threat to children.
Not only did the Acharya Harihar Post Graduate Institute of Cancer (AHPGIC) in Cuttack report an increasing number of stray dog bite incidents, but the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) also took notice of these incidents on its own.
In May of this year, the commission sent notices about the matter to the City Municipal Corporation, the hospital administration in the state of Odisha, and the state government. The NHRC said these incidents, if true, are a violation of the patients’ human rights.
