Title: Shantibala Naskar Vs. State of West Bengal and others
Decided on: 4th october 2023
WPA No. 18598 of 2023
Coram: Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya, J.
Introduction
In a case where the forest department of west bengal government refused to pay compensation to the family of a deceased, who had died due to injuries caused by a wild animal, the calcutta high court ordered that the faimly of the deceased were lible to the compensation.
Facts of the case
The petitioner in this case is the widow of a deceased person, residing in the Sundarbans area. The area is infested by tigers and other wild animals. After the demise of petitioner’s husband, the post mortem report obtained also indicated that the death was due to effects of injury caused by a big animal like tiger. As per the order of the Government of West Bengal, Department of Forests would pay a compensation of Rs.5,00,000/- to the family of the deceased in such cases, subject to certification regarding cause of death from an appropriate authority. When the petitioner applied for compensation, the authorities refused the same on the ground that upon an inquiry it was found that no such tiger attack was recorded in the Range Offices of Sundarban Tiger Reserve.
Court Analysis and Decision
It was observed that according to the forest department authorities none of the Range Offices or forest camps recorded any such incident of tiger attack or death by a tiger attack. Since there is no such record before the relevant authorities for the relevant period, there is no question of granting compensation to the petitioner. There are core areas and buffer areas of the forests, which if the petitioner’s husband had entered into without the permission of the forest authorities, the department would not be liable to grant compensation to the petitioner for such illegal act of the deceased. The order of the department indicates that the revised payment of compensation pertains to the loss of life and property due to depredation by wild animals. An ex-gratia grant was sanctioned to be given to the victims or the legal heirs of the victims of depredation caused by wild animals. None of the orders or communications distinguishes between demise in the core areas or the buffer areas of the forest. Even if the petitioner’s husband is construed to have transgressed the law for earning his livelihood and stepped into the core area, the family of the poor victim in such cases will be deprived of compensation merely for transgression of law as perceived by the Forest authorities.
The only issue regarding grant of compensation is that the compensation has to be subject to certification regarding cause of death from appropriate authority. In the present case, the petitioner’s husband was admitted to Jaynagar Rural Hospital before his demise and a postmortem report was issued by the Superintendent of the Alipore Police Case Hospital. Both the authorities are government institutions and there is no occasion for the respondents to deny the veracity of the documents. since a post mortem report states the cause of death of her husband is a wild animal attack in the Sundarban area, the authorities are duty bound to pay compensation for such incident to the petitioner.
The court directed the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Head of Forest Force), Government of West Bengal to grant the compensation of Rs.5,00,000/- to the petitioner within 10 days for the sad demise of her husband by tiger attack in the Sundarban area. It is made clear that such compensation shall be received by the petitioner on behalf of herself and her family, being all the heirs and legal representatives of the said deceased.
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Written by- K R Bhuvanashri
