The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Building owner offers compensation, given bail

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Apr 12, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Building owner offers compensation, given bail

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, APRIL 11 . With the owner of a multi-storey building, which collapsed last week killing five construction workers, offering to pay an ex gratia of Rs. 1 lakh each to the victim's families, the Madras High Court today granted anticipatory bail to him.

Saifuddin Bharmal (49) approached the court apprehending arrest in connection with the April 5 building collapse on Santhome High Road. He submitted that he had bought the building only in February this year and had engaged a structural engineer to examine it. Only after the engineer certified that the building was strong and required only minor repairs did he engage a contractor to carry out repair works, he said.

The heavy torrential rain too contributed to the collapse.

He denied that the accident occurred due to negligence or any misdeed on his part, and said it was "in the nature of a natural calamity."

He offered to pay Rs. 1 lakh each to the kin of the deceased, besides Rs. 50,000 each to those seriously injured, and Rs. 25,000 to those who had sustained minor injuries in the accident.

Recording the submission, Justice M. Thanikachalam directed him to honour the undertaking as a precondition to the anticipatory bail.

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