Karan Singh vs. State NCT of Delhi
Background
The applicant was accused of illegally electrifying a fence around agricultural land, after which a 12-year-old child came into contact with it and was electrocuted to death. He sought regular bail, arguing he did not own the land or the electricity connection and that the fencing was meant only to keep wild animals out.
Decision Breakdown
The Court examined the applicant's own satellite-image evidence and found it actually contradicted his defence: the fencing separated two ordinary plots of land, not land from forest. It noted the fence carried 220-225 volt current with no circuit breaker, insulation, warning signage, or official sanction, in an area where local children were known to play, making the danger obvious and foreseeable. Given the trial court had already framed a charge under Section 105 BNS (a culpable-homicide-type offence) which remained unchallenged, the Court declined to grant bail.
Lesson Learnt
Electrifying a fence without safety devices or warning signs, in an area accessible to the public, can expose the person responsible to serious criminal liability if it causes death: claims of a purely protective purpose will be tested against the actual physical evidence.