NEW DELHI: Setting a benchmark for compensation in cases of human death caused by stray cattle, particularly at a time when such incidents are on the rise across the country, SC, in a first-of-its-kind case, awarded Rs 15 lakh in compensation to the family of a man who died in 2007 when a bull attacked him in Punjab.Indicating that the state govt could not abdicate its responsibility towards people who get injured or die because of stray cattle, a bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and N K Singh directed all states to frame rules “to develop a mechanism for payment of compensation in accidents caused as a result of bovine/cattle, in both categories of cases, i.e. pedestrian or vehicular”. It also asked govt to take care of strays and take action against owners who leave their animals on the streets and highways.
