Compensating victims of fire
On Wednesday, March 17, a fire incident took place in the ICU of Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Three of the ICU patients died after being relocated. This is one of at least three recent incidents of fire outbreak in Dhaka Medical College Hospital including a fire in the general ICU of the Hospital in early January. A five-member committee on behalf of the health ministry, a nine-member committee on behalf of the Hospital and a four-member committee on behalf of the fire service have been formed to investigate the fire incident.
Similarly, last year, fire broke out in the coronavirus isolation unit of the United Hospital, the victims of which filed writ petitions before the High Court Division for compensation. Although the High Court Division ordered the Hospital to pay Taka 30 lakh to each victim's family, the decision was later stayed by the Appellate Division. The Constitution of Bangladesh provides protection from arbitrary deprivation of life under Article 32 and the court has, in the past, held that compensation may be awarded in cases of established unconstitutional deprivation of the fundamental right to personal life or liberty of the person concerned, while exercising writ jurisdiction. The duty of care is more strongly established when the concerned party is a public authority.
In cases of death or injuries occurring as a result of wrongful or negligent acts, the injured person or the family member of the deceased person can institute a suit under the Fatal Accidents Act, 1855. While disposing of the said case the court has discretion to award such compensation. However, the suits instituted under this law often take many years to be disposed and has shown little effectiveness.
Furthermore, the CCB Foundation v Bangladesh case, the court relied on an Indian judgment and observed that "in instances where public functionaries are involved and the matter relates to the violation of Fundamental Rights or the enforcement of public duties, the remedy would still be available under the public law notwithstanding that a suit could be filed for damages under private law".
Therefore, there is growing acceptance of awarding compensation under public law for negligence, inaction or wrongful acts of public bodies resulting in deprivation of fundamental rights of the people. Although the judiciary has taken a progressive approach in this regard, there still remain concerns as to the speedy and effective implementation of these orders.
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