Dog-Bite cases have gone up drastically in the recent times. Now, in a big order, Punjab and Haryana High Court has fixed compensation for dog bite victims. Know all about it..
New Delhi: In the past couple of years, dog bite cases across the country have gone up drastically, be it for adults or children, stray dogs in various places have attacked any and everyone. In a lot of cases, the result of these attacks has been death. Steps are being taken in the different states to control these stray dog attacks but nonetheless, new cases of dog bites have been reported. Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh has been topping the charts when it comes to such cases, as no less than 70-80 dog bite incidents are reported daily and 150-180 injections are administered every day to victims of such incidents, according to data shared by the state government recently. In a very important and significant court ruling, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has fixed the compensation for dog bite victims at a minimum of Rs 10K per tooth mark. What does the Court have to say on it and what are the details of this compensation, read further to find out..
Punjab And Haryana HC Order On Dog Bite Victims’ Compensation
In a significant ruling, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday directed that the state government shall be primarily responsible for paying compensation to victims of dog bites, adding that the minimum financial assistance would be Rs 10,000 per tooth mark. “When the flesh is removed from the skin, the compensation will be at least Rs 20,000 per 0.2 cm wound,” the court ruled. The ruling came during a hearing on a batch of petitions pertaining to dog bite incidents.
High Court Directs Govts To Set Up Committees
Disposing of a batch of 193 petitions, the high court also mandated the governments of Punjab and Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh to set up committees headed by the deputy commissioners of the respective districts to determine such compensation. The ruling assumes significance at a time when dog bite cases have been on the rise across the country.
“The award should be issued by the Committees within four months of the filing of the claims along with the necessary documents… The State shall be primarily responsible for paying the compensation, to the defaulting agencies of the state, from the resources of the state. with the right to recover, or a private person,” a single bench of Justice Vinod S Bharadwaj ruled.
Speaking of the government statistics of the dog bite cases, as of September 2023, 70 to 80 new cases of dog bites are being reported every day, and more than 150 to 180 injections are being given daily in Ghaziabad. Ghaziabad Chief Medical Officer Bhavtosh Shankhadhar said, “We are appealing to the people that if someone is bitten by a dog, you can immediately come to the hospital and get rabies injection because once rabies infects, it is impossible for the person to survive.” Earlier, a 14-year-old boy, who hid a dog bite for over a month from his parents out of fear, died of rabies in Ghaziabad.
(Inputs from ANI)