Chennai: Madras High Court today ordered notice to authorities on a petition seeking compensation for the death of a class VI student, who drowned in a swimming pool at an amusement park during a school excursion.
Petitioner D Eswaran, father of the deceased E Prabakaran, sought adequate compensation contending that the school had failed to perform its quasi-parental responsibility.
Alleging that the management of the Sri Lakshmi School in neighbouring Tiruvallur and police harassed and threatened him to withdraw his complaint over the death of his son last year, he also sought a thorough inquiry into the incident.
When the matter came up for hearing, Justice R Subbiah yesterday ordered notice to authorities, and directed the additional government pleader P Sanjai Gandhi to get instructions from the school education department.
According to the petitioner, the school had taken its students on excursion to "Queens Land Amusement Park" near here on February 21, 2015. At 2 pm, he received a phone call from a teacher saying his son Prabakaran had been hospitalised as he had suffered breathing problem.
But when he rushed to the hospital, he was informed that his son had died due to drowning.
The petitioner alleged that even before the postmortem the school management and local police were keen to strike "a deal" with him. He alleged no mandatory RDO inquiry was conducted into the incident, and he was not furnished a copy of the post-mortem report.
Suspecting foul play, he claimed the school failed in its responsibility and teachers behaved in an irresponsible manner in dealing with the incident.
