Kavya Bhatnagar, National Law University Odisha, Cuttack
Background
Tragic incident of a clock tower that fell in Chandni Chowk, Delhi and killed several people: Municipal Corporation of Delhi vs. Subhagwanti & Others (1966)1. The case basically pertains to a public building maintained and administered by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). On 24 February 1952, a sudden collapse of the clock tower caused the death of three people. They decided to sue the MCD for damages based on wrongful death caused by the recklessness of the municipal body, which resulted in the demise of the victims' family members. The appellants/ plaintiffs argued that the clock tower was in a dangerous state for many years and that the MCD did not perform its duties to properly maintain the structure and thus led to the tragedy. The MCD in its defense argued that the collapse was due to latent structural defects that were invisible and could not have been discovered by regular inspections. The principal legal issue in this case is whether the MCD can be held liable for the collapse under the doctrine of negligence and if the principle res ipsa loquitur (the thing speaks for itself) applies to shift the burden of proof onto the municipal body. Ultimately, the case went all the way to the Supreme Court, giving judgment in favor of the plaintiffs.
Issues in the Case
Several key legal issues were raised in Municipal Corporation of Delhi vs Subhagwanti & Others, each of which had far-reaching implications for the interpretation of negligence and liability in Indian law:
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