- In Pauly Vadakkan v. Corporation of Cochin, the Kerala High Court has directed the State Government to grant funds to the Public Works Department (PWD) so that proper attention can be paid to road safety protocols across the State.
- The Court also asked the Senior Government Pleader to make sure that the protocols relating to the road safety measures to be enforced in the ongoing work sites.
- The case came to being after Advocate Jomy George informed the Court about an accident that took place at Tripunithura in which a youth lost his life because required warning signs had not been placed at the work site.
- Taking the blame on its shoulders, the Senior Government Pleader Manoj Kumar said that needful steps have been taken to fix responsibility and that the engineers and contractors engaged in the work have been placed under suspension.
- The Court observed that on the question about fixing responsibility, the accountability will have to be laid on the engineers and officers in charge of the work site.
- The Court further observed that unless penalties are not laid, accidents such as these will continue to take place.
- The Court also noted that the standard of care required from the officers/engineers is high and any negligence on their part should be enough to hold them accountable for any resulting accidents.
- The Hon'ble Court, therefore, declared that in case any such future accident takes place, the concerned officers and engineers will be held accountable for the same.
- The matter will be further taken up on 23rd June.
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