Karachi court directs KE to pay Rs13.5m in electrocution death case

— A city court in Karachi has ordered K-Electric to pay Rs13.5 million to the family of a local resident who was electrocuted while trying to save a toddler during downpour.

The court observed that the negligence of K-Electric in maintaining its electrical infrastructure was obvious from the fact that there was live current in a utility pole at a public utility.

Sheikh Saad Ahmed, who died in 2019 after touching a pole while attempting to save a child. The utility company did nothing when people complained about the faulty pole.

Lawyers for K-Electric contended that the pole was not owned by the company and that the electrocution was caused by cables coming from private generators and that the victim had risked himself by entering a hazardous location.

The court rejected this argument and underlined that the power distribution companies have a duty to protect the public and the presence of other private cables does not diminish K-Electric’s responsibilities.

The court also considered the victim’s effort to save a child, stating that the law is lenient towards acts performed to save human life.

The court ordered K-Electric to pay compensation to the claimants within 90 days.