The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday directed the Chandigarh Administration to pay Rs 1 crore to the father of a student, who tragically lost her life, and Rs 50 lakh to another girl, who lost her arm after a massive tree branch fell on children at Carmel Convent School in July 2022.

Rejecting the administration’s defence that the mishap was an “act of God”, the court held the UT liable for negligence and admonished it for showing “a lack of empathy and sensitivity” in resisting the compensation claim.

“This conduct reflects a lack of empathy and sensitivity on the part of the Chandigarh Administration,” Justice Kuldeep Tiwari observed while noting that the UT readily implemented all remedial measures recommended by an inquiry committee except the direction for compensation.

Cour

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