The Court made the observations while refusing to quash criminal proceedings initiated against six office bearers of the Prestige Lakeside Habitat Home Owners Association in a case pertaining to the death of a 9-year-old who drowned in the common swimming pool of the apartment complex in Bengaluru.
The Court ordered that office bearers of the association should be tried for the offence of causing death by negligence under Section 304A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
It, however, quashed the charge against them under Section 304 IPC which penalises culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
In December 2023, the victim had slipped into the decorative pool area attached to the common swimming pool in the building and died of electrocution.
The office bearers of the residents association, Debashish Sinha, ST Suresh Babu, Santosh Maharana, Gobinda Mandal, Bikashkumar Paridh and Bhakta Charan Pradhan were booked by the police for having committed culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
The police pointed out that the accused had been negligent by not providing any safety measures around the pool.
The petitioners approached the High Court to quash the charges against them.
They argued that there did not exist any intention on their part to commit such homicide, and the element of intent is a necessary requirement under Section 304 of IPC.
The petitioners also argued that no apartment complex has lifeguards at swimming pools inside their premises.
Source: Barandbench
