The Madras High Court recently directed the Tamil Nadu government to pay Rs 1 lakh as compensation to the family of Athikesavan Srinivasan, a bangle seller, who went missing after his hospitalisation for Covid-19 treatment in 2020.
A bench of Justices PN Prakash and N Anand Venkatesh passed the order in a habeas corpus petition moved by Athikesavan’s son. While ordering compensation, the court also directed the police to continue with the investigation and take effective steps to find Athikesavan.
After testing positive for Covid-19 on June 9, 2020, Athikesavan, who was 72 at the time, was taken by the Greater Chennai Corporation authorities to Ekkattuthangal Urban Primary Health Centre.
On June 11, 2020, he was referred to Government Kilpauk Medical College and Hospital for admission and treatment. As he did not have a mobile phone, his family members lost track of him thereafter.
Later, when they tried locating him at the screening centre and also at Government Kilpauk Medical College and Hospital, they could not find him.
On June 17, 2020, his younger son tried to lodge an FIR for a missing person, however, the officers at the St. Thomas Mount Police Station refused to do it.
The family alleged that thereafter, they were made to run from pillar to post and ultimately, after great persuasion, the FIR for missing person was registered on June 23, 2020.
Before the high court, Athikesavan’s elder son contended that had the police acted with alacrity, he would have been traced.
However, the division bench did not find sufficient force in the argument. The court noted that the state and the Greater Chennai Corporation were doing their best to fight the Covid-19 war, therefore, it could not fix the blame on any single officer for the lapse.
Although the court opined that it would have been in the fitness of things, if the Inspector of Police of the concerned Police Station had registered a regular FIR of ‘man-missing’ when the complaint was given to him on June 17, 2020 itself.
While stating that it did not want to be too harsh on the state, the court, on humanitarian grounds, directed the state to pay the compensation to the family within four weeks from the date of receipt of the copy of the order.
The Habeas Corpus Petition was moved before the high court on July 2, 2020, and court was told that Athikesavan was shifted from Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital to Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital.
On July 24, 2020, the Greater Chennai Corporation submitted before the court that continued efforts were made to trace the patient, and also in August 2020, one unidentified body resembling Athikesavan was found, however, the DNA test of the body came negative.
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