Organizers will be held responsible in celebratory firing mishap: Delhi-HC
As the wedding season is about to start, the Delhi HC has ruled that organizers of events like weddings, where celebratory firing takes place, would also be held responsible for any mishap. Justice Vibhu Bakhru said the event organizer has to ensure that his or her guests do not discharge firearms and ought to inform the police if celebratory firing takes place.
'You can't say you didn't ask guests to bring guns'
The court said that if the government hasn't formulated guidelines on the issue, then till such norms come, "we need to fix responsibility on the person who organized the event". "Something should be done by the person organizing the event. You (the organizer of the event) cannot say that you did not ask them (guests) to bring the guns," the court added.
Celebratory firing killed girl in 2016, HC hearing father's plea
The court was hearing a plea by Shyam Sundar Kaushal, father of a teenage girl, who died as a result of celebratory firing during a wedding near her house in 2016. Kaushal said his daughter was standing in the second-floor balcony of their house watching the marriage procession, when one of the guests fired his gun in the air and the bullet hit her.
The girl succumbed to her injuries three days later
She succumbed to her injuries at a hospital three days later on April 19, 2016, the plea said. Kaushal urged the court to make such events' organizers, who fail to control such instances of celebratory-firing by their guests, pay the compensation in such cases.
Kaushal has sought compensation from groom's family, Center, police
By refusing to stop their guest from brandishing his firearm and causing threat to the life of others, the organizer has failed to discharge his duty properly, the petition claimed. Kaushal has also sought Rs. 50L compensation from the groom's family for his daughter's death. An equal amount of compensation has been sought by him jointly from the Center, Delhi government and the police.
Groom's family claims couldn't control firearm use, court rejects contention
Meanwhile, the groom's family claimed that they were unaware about any celebratory-firing by the guests and that they had no control over use of firearms by others. The court didn't accept the contention. It also asked the Center, Delhi government and the police to examine who'd be responsible for compensation in such incidents and listed the matter for further hearing on January 16, 2019.
