Bombay HC Directs State Govt To Pay ₹22 Lakh To Woman Whose Husband Was Killed At Yerwada Mental Hospital

Mumbai, June 8: Observing that there was “gross negligence” on the part of the authorities, the Bombay High Court on Monday ordered the Maharashtra government to pay compensation of Rs 22 lakh to a woman whose 52-year-old husband was killed in November 2013 at the Yerawada Mental Hospital by another patient.

A bench of Justices Manish Pitale and Shreeram Shirsat noted that the State had failed in its duty to take sufficient care of the patients in the facility. It termed the incident as “ghastly and unfortunate” and said that since the facility is run by the state government, it is their duty to ensure the safety of all patients there.

Court highlights negligence

“The State failed in its duty to take care and failed in its public duty, resulting in violation of fundamental rights. The case demonstrates the grossly negligent manner in which the state authorities were managing affairs at the hospital,” the HC said.

The court also took note of the admission by the government that on the night of the incident, while there were 72 patients in the observation room, there were only three attendants on duty.

“It is obvious that the strength of the attendants was woefully inadequate, apart from the fact that it violated the minimum facilities for patients in the mental hospital,” the HC said.

The authorities at the facility ought to have ensured that patients with violent tendencies were segregated from the other patients in the observation ward.

“This was the basic minimum expected from the concerned officers of the Yerawada Mental Hospital. Failure to do so led to the incident, where two persons died,” the court said.

Petition for compensation

The court passed the order while hearing a petition by the woman and her two children seeking compensation, claiming that her husband died while in the care and custody of the Yerawada Mental Hospital, a state-run facility, after he was assaulted by another patient.

As per the plea, the deceased, a real estate agent, suffered from bouts of schizophrenia and was undergoing treatment for the same. He was admitted to the Yerawada Mental Hospital when his mental condition deteriorated in November 2013.

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Two days later, the woman was informed that her husband was killed by another inmate who had become violent.

The government said that in 2018, it paid a compensation of Rs one lakh to the victim’s family. An FIR was also lodged against the attacker, but the case remains in abeyance as he is mentally unsound.

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