Jharkhand News : The Jharkhand High Court has taken a stern view of the death of a child who fell into an open drain in Ranchi’s Kantatoli area on January 20. Acting on media reports, the High Court took suo motu cognisance of the incident and registered it as a public interest litigation (PIL). The matter was heard on Tuesday by a division bench comprising Chief Justice M.S. Sonak and Justice Rajesh Shankar.
During the hearing, the court strongly criticised the Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) for its alleged negligence and apathetic functioning. The bench sought to know what action had been taken against officials responsible for leaving the drain uncovered, despite previous court directions on covering open drains to prevent such tragedies.
The High Court directed the state government and the municipal corporation to file a detailed response through affidavits. The bench noted that similar incidents had occurred earlier and that the court had already issued clear instructions in the past to cover open drains. The judges questioned why those orders were not implemented and under what circumstances the drain remained open.
Reply Sought by February 12
The court also asked whether any disciplinary action had been initiated against responsible officials following the child’s death. It has directed the authorities to submit their response by February 12, the date fixed for the next hearing.
The incident occurred on January 20 in Kantatoli locality, where a child slipped into an open drain and died. After the matter was widely reported in local newspapers, the Jharkhand High Court took suo motu cognisance, terming it a serious issue of public safety and accountability.
