On Monday, the Bombay High Court emphasized the importance of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) promptly offering interim compensation to the family of two children who tragically drowned in a water tank with inadequate covering at a public garden in Mumbai.

Justices GS Patel and Kamal Khata, presiding over the bench, expressed that while compensation could never fully alleviate the family's profound loss, it was nonetheless essential for them to receive some form of restitution as provided by the law.

The Court was addressing a public interest litigation (PIL) it had taken up on its own initiative, triggered by three newspaper articles detailing the incident. These articles underscored the negligence of the civic authorities involved.

During the hearing, the Court inquired whether the State government had established any framework for compensating victims in cases of fatalities resulting from negligence by civic bodies.

"If you (government) don't have a structure, liability is open-ended...There has to be some basis on which the compensation part can be reasonably addressed. There is also a question of responsibility of corporation and individual officers," the Bench orally remarked.

However, the Court refrained from issuing any specific orders regarding compensation for the family at that time. Instead, it scheduled the matter for further directions on April 23rd.

The articles detailed the tragic discovery of missing children found deceased in a water tank with insufficient covering on April 1. In a prior ruling, the Court concluded that it was implausible for a municipal corporation to evade responsibility or liability for accidents or deaths resulting from its negligence.