Court hikes compensation for school stampede victims
By IANSWednesday, September 8, 2010
NEW DELHI - The Delhi High Court Wednesday increased the compensation amount paid to the victims of a stampede in a government school in north-east Delhi in September last year.
A division bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Manmohan asked the Delhi government to give Rs.5 lakh to the families of each of the five girls who were killed in the incident and Rs.75,000 to each of those injured.
Earlier the government had announced a compensation of Rs.2 lakh for those who died and Rs.50,000 for the injured.
Five students were killed and at least 34 injured Sep 10 in a stampede at the Government Senior Secondary School in Khajuri Khas in north-east Delhi.
The victims were mostly from Class 7 to Class 10 and had come to the school for their mid-year examinations.
The incident led to the dismissal of the school principal and transfer of six teachers.
The court came down heavily on the Directorate of Education (DoE) for not abiding by the building bye-laws and giving clearance certificates without proper inspection.
It also asked the DoE and the state government how the permission was granted for construction of a staircase of 0.5 metre width when the bye-laws state that it should be of 1.5 metres.
The bench asked the DoE and Delhi government to file a compliance report by Nov 24.
