KARACHI: Senior Civil Judge (Central) Zaheer Hussain Mangi has directed the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and District Municipal Corporation (DMC) Central to jointly pay total Rs9.9 million as compensation to the legal heirs of a woman and her infant son who had drowned in an uncovered nullah in Shadman Town in 2022.

Muhammad Danish — husband of the deceased woman, Samman, and father of their two-month-old son, Azlan — had filed two identical civil suits through his counsel, Usman Farooq, before the senior civil judge (Central) seeking compensation under the Fatal Accidents Act, 1855, from the KMC and DMC Central over their deaths due to their negligence.

After the filing of the suits, notices were issued to the defendants. However, the court noted that the municipal bodies chose not to contest the matter. As a result, the proceedings were carried out ex parte.

After examining the evidence, the court, in two identical orders, directed the KMC and DMC Central to jointly pay Rs5.2 million in compensation to the legal heirs of Samman and Rs4.7 million to the legal heirs of infant Azlan under the Fatal Accidents Act, 1855.

Both drowned in an uncovered drain in Shadman Town in 2022 during rain

“It is a settled principle of law under the Fatal Accidents Act, 1855, that when death is caused by a wrongful act, neglect, or default, the legal heirs of the deceased are entitled to compensation for the loss of dependency, emotional trauma and related damages. The defendants, being public authorities charged with maintaining the city’s sewerage and drainage systems, had a legal and statutory duty of care owed to the general public. The unchallenged testimony of the plaintiff and the supporting material on record sufficiently establish that the deaths occurred due to the failure of the defendants to fulfill their statutory obligations,” the court observed.

According to the counsel of the plaintiff, on July 17, 2022, during heavy rainfall near Qalandria Chowk within the remits of Shahra-i-Noor Jahan police station, Samman, 24, and infant Azlan, two-month old, had lost their lives after falling into an open and uncovered drainage nullah. The incident occurred while the plaintiff was travelling on a motorbike along with his wife and child. The counsel added that due to heavy rainfall and lack of visibility on the road, they fell into the drain.

“The record clearly demonstrates that the incident resulted from gross negligence and failure on the part of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and District Municipal Corporation (DMC) in discharging their statutory responsibilities. The defendants failed to cover, maintain and secure the drainage system, nor did they place any warning signs, diversion boards, or protective barriers at the hazardous location, especially during the monsoon season when the danger of such occurrences is elevated,” the court observed.

In his submission, counsel Farooq contended that the KMC officials were informed before the incident but even after passage of considerable time, no steps were taken by the defendants to obviate the danger.

The counsel had argued that Samman was “24 years old, healthy and could have lived up to the age of 70”, had the tragic incident not happened. Counsel Farooq further said that following Samman’s death, the plaintiff and his surviving daughter, Zoya, had been left alone and suffered “huge losses”.

The counsel had pleaded with the court to decree each suit, in the sum of Rs57,352,000, against the defendants to pay as damages/compensation to the plaintiff.

He had further requested the court that profit/mark-up at the rate of 21 per cent per annum should also be paid to the plaintiff.

Published in Dawn, August 5th, 2025