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Vadodara Municipal Corporation v. Purshottam V. Murjani

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal Nos. 3594-3611 of 2010)Decided 10 Sept 2014
Civil Appeal Nos. 3594-3611 of 2010
Justice V. Gopala Gowda · Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel

Background

A boat operated by a contractor on Vadodara's municipal lake capsized, killing 22 passengers. It carried 38 people despite capacity for 22, without lifeguards or life jackets. Consumer forums awarded compensation against the contractor and municipality and held the insurer responsible within the applicable policy limits; all three appealed.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court dismissed the appeals and upheld the compensation orders. Paying passengers were consumers, and unsafe operation amounted to deficient service. The municipality retained a duty to supervise the hazardous activity and could not escape responsibility by appointing a contractor. The insurer could not avoid the coverage provided by the earlier policy through a later policy limiting liability; the Court also requested Law Commission consideration of legislation on public authorities' tort liability.

Lesson Learnt

Hiring a contractor does not automatically relieve a public authority of its duty to protect people using a dangerous service. Paying customers and victims' families can seek compensation for failures such as overloading and missing safety equipment.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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