Chennai Rottweiler attack: Madras High Court says State need not pay compensation to five-year-old girl’s parents

The Madras High Court on Monday (August 12, 2024) refused to direct the Tamil Nadu government, Chennai Collector, and Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) to jointly pay a compensation of ₹10 lakh to the parents of a five-year-old girl who was mauled by two pet Rottweilers at a GCC park in Nungambakkam on May 5, 2024.

The Madras High Court on Monday (August 12, 2024) refused to direct the Tamil Nadu government, Chennai Collector, and Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) to jointly pay a compensation of ₹10 lakh to the parents of a five-year-old girl who was mauled by two pet Rottweilers at a GCC park in Nungambakkam on May 5, 2024.

Justice G.K. Ilanthiraiyan dismissed a writ petition filed by the girl’s mother S. Soniya, 24, and held that the State could not be made vicariously responsible for the act of pet dogs owned by a private individual, against whom a criminal case had been registered for allegedly letting the animals roam around without a leash.

Taking note that the police had completed the investigation in the said criminal case and filed a final report before the XV Metropolitan Magistrate court in Chennai, the judge said the writ petitioner could at best seek compensation from the owner of those pet dogs, but not from the State.

In her affidavit, the litigant said her husband had been employed to maintain the GCC park and that she and their child were living with him on its premises. On May 5, as she was out gardening, a resident of the area S. Pugazhendhi came to the park with his two Rottweilers.

The dogs were not on a leash, and they allegedly attacked the child, who was playing in the park, causing serious injuries all over her body. The petitioner, with the help of others in the area, took her daughter to the hospital where the doctors managed to save her life, she said.

The park was closed after the incident and as a result, her husband lost his job, the petitioner said, adding the family was struggling to make ends meet. She made a representation to the State authorities on June 11, 2024, seeking a compensation of ₹10 lakh for the family’s sustenance.

As the representation was not considered, she filed the writ petition before the High Court. “The corporation authorities failed to prescribe guidelines regarding the raising of dogs, that too foreign breeds. Because of the legal lacunae on the part of the authorities, ferocious dog breeds like Rottweilers are being raised in the vicinity and it caused the said incident,” the petitioner said.