Minor dies due to dog bite, High Court gives terrible verdict

Bhubaneswar. The Orissa High Court has directed the Puri civic body to pay a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the victim’s family members in the case of a 4-year-old minor boy who was killed by a pack of stray dogs in Puri district in December 2016. The court passed this order while hearing the petition filed by lawyer Vibhuti Charan Mohanty.

The incident occurred on December 1, 2016, when the deceased minor boy Satyabrata Raut was playing near his house in Jagannath Colony, Puri, when he was mauled to death by stray dogs. He was taken to a nearby hospital where doctors declared him brought dead. After the incident was reported in various newspapers, the petitioner filed a PIL in the High Court and sought financial compensation for the family.

Speaking to IANS, petitioner’s lawyer Rajkishore Swain said the municipal authorities have claimed in their affidavit that the Orissa Municipal Act, 1950, provides for compensation to the family members of a person in case of death due to dog bite. There is no legal provision under this. Similarly, the municipality also tried to shirk responsibility and said that they had sterilized 3,600 stray dogs.

Swain said, “The court relied on various judgments given by the Chhattisgarh, Karnataka High Courts and the Supreme Court to hold that the human rights of the victim were violated in the case. Therefore, the court directed the municipality to pay compensation.”