SC upholds SHC verdict barring case against K-Electric chairperson, CEO
A Reuters file image
The Supreme Court upheld on Tuesday the verdict announced by the Sindh High Court (SHC), which barred relevant authorities from registering a case against K-Electric (KE) chairperson and chief executive officer (CEO) over electrocution deaths.
A three-member bench, comprising Justice Faisal Arab, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah and Justice Muneeb Akhtar, was hearing the plea.
The petitioner has maintained in the plea that a child was electrocuted to death during rainfall on August 23, 2017, in Model Colony and a sessions court had directed the complainant to file a case against KE chairperson and CEO, but the SHC had restricted him from doing so.
At the hearing, the court remarked that how a case could be registered against the CEO of a company if anyone died due to electrocution.
"Under which law legal action can be taken against the owner or the CEO of the company," questioned Justice Arab. Justice Akhtar further stated, under which section the case could be registered and what sentence could be awarded to them.
Justice Shah remarked that the one who committed the crime would be arrested, he said, adding that the CEO of the company may face legal action to the extent that he was declared ineligible to serve on the post.
Advocate Saleem Ahmed Mongrio, however, maintained that many people had lost their lives due to the "criminal negligence of the KE administration."
At this, Justice Arab remarked that if any citizen had died due to the negligence of a company then a civil lawsuit could be filed against it for compensation.
The court upheld SHC's verdict in the case.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 5th, 2020.