A local court in the city imposed a fine of Rs4.819 million on K-Electric (KE) for the electrocution of a child to death in 2017.Senior Civil Judge East Ambreen Jamal found K-Electric guilty of negligence and failing to implement adequate safety measures to protect citizens, ordering the KE to pay Rs4.819 million in compensation to the heirs of Azhan.Azhan, an 8-year-old child, died in 2017 after he was electrocuted by a live wire that broke from the K-Electric’s pole during the rainfall in Karachi.
The relatives of the child filed a case against K-E over its negligence. The verdict comes after a lengthy seven-year court battle initiated by Azhan’s relatives.Counsel of the plaintiff advocate Usman Farooq pleaded that the negligence of K-Electric in the case was evident, as the power supply company failed to install a guard wire, causing the death of Azhan.K-Electric is the only electricity supplying company in Karachi and it has been blamed for several similar incidents, as in September 2014 the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority imposed a Rs10 million fine on K-Electric over the electrocution incidents in Karachi from 2022 to 2023 that resulted in the deaths of 33 citizens.As per the details, the NEPRA rejected K-Electric’s response to the show-cause notice and imposed the fine.
