Is it right move to reduce Uphaar compensation?

GN Bureau | October 13, 2011



The supreme court on Thursday reduced the compensation payable to the family of those killed in the Uphaar cinema fire tragedy of 1997. In 2003, the Delhi high court found the cinema owners and civic authoirities guilty of negligence, and awarded Rs 25 crore civil compensation to the relatives of victims, which included Rs 15 lakh each to the relatives of the victims, less than 20 years at the time of the tragedy and a sum of Rs 18 lakh each to those, above 20 years. The apex court has reduced the figures to Rs 10 lakh (from Rs 18 lakh) and Rs 7.5 lakh (from Rs 15 lakh).

The verdict seems surprising: reducing compensation can send out a wrong signal to public authorities as well as private players when it comes to tightening standards of public safety.

Comments

 

Other News

Tier-2 cities lead India’s digital credit push

Digital payments have become a reflex for urban India, but the confidence earned in paying has not yet carried over to borrowing. That is the central finding of `How Urban India Pays Report 2026`, released by Pahlé India Foundation in collaboration with Amazon Pay. Based on a survey of 5,149 consu

India calls for doubling bilateral trade with UK by 2030

Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal has called upon businesses in India and the United Kingdom to translate the opportunities created by the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) into expanded trade, investment, partnerships and job creation. Addressing the Bu

Gandhian movement after Gandhi failed: Ram Guha

The Gandhian movement in India, after Gandhi’s death, failed, says Ramachandra Guha, and blames Vinoba Bhave for it. But the movement found new, fertile grounds around the world and succeeded in bringing about a change in South Africa, the US and elsewhere. It is high time it returned home. Of cour

When religion, politics and Bollywood come together

Tavleen Singh, noted journalist and political commentator, has turned to fiction, with her debut novel ‘The Actor’ (HaperCollins India). Set in the near future, it has a superstar, Amit Singh, turning to politics, when the political landscape is dominated by prime minister Guru Gaynendraj

Cabinet approves setting up of Integrated Transport & Logistics Authority

The union cabinet, chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday approved the setting up of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), called Integrated Transport & Logistics Authority (ITLA), to strengthen research, planning, appraisal, monitoring and impact assessment within the broad domains of Transp

Why foundational literacy and numeracy is key to school education

Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) are often described as the building blocks of education. Yet, their significance goes well beyond a child’s ability to read a sentence, write a response or solve a basic mathematical problem. These foundational skills shape how children understand the world,

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter