Cuttack, July 25: Orissa High Court has awarded Rs 3.5 lakh as compensation to a widow for the death of her husband due to electrocution.

The woman had filed a petition claiming compensation of Rs 6 lakh 25 years ago.

The court also awarded Rs 10,000 as cost "looking to her suffering for nearly two and a half decade in the process of litigation".

Kausalya Behera of Berhampur village under Rupsa tehsil of Balasore district had filed the petition after her husband died after coming in contact with a live electric wire in a pond.

The wire, which had snapped from a connection given to a pump installed for irrigation, had fallen into the pond and electrified the water. The man had been unaware of this when he got into the water to fish.

The high court had initially rejected her claim for compensation when she had filed a petition in 1992. She had filed a special leave petition in Supreme Court against the high court in 1993.

By the time the apex court remitted the matter to the high court in 1995, it had ordered for payment of interim ex-gratia twice - Rs 20,000 and Rs 60,000.

In pursuance of the Supreme Court order, the high court had taken up her plea again in 1995, but it had languished all these years.

Finally, the high court ruled in her favour on July 14 with the observation that the responsibility of the electricity authority cannot be wholly ruled out as death had taken place on account of electrocution.

In its order, the single-judge bench of Justice Biswanath Rath said: "Considering the legal position, the length of journey of the widow-petitioner in the matter of claim of compensation for loss of life of her husband admittedly on account of electrocution, the direction of the Supreme Court and the incident taking place at her age at 29 years and presently she is already 54 years including her one journey to the apex court, she lost her entire youth in the litigation process, this court directs the state authorities to pay a total compensation of Rs 3,50,000 to the petitioner (Kaushalya Behera)."

"Since this court finds the petitioner is already in receipt of a sum of Rs 80,000 by virtue of the interim directions of the Supreme Court, the state authorities shall pay a further sum of Rs 2,70,000 by way of demand draft drawn in favour of the petitioner within a period of four weeks from the date of communication of the direction of this court by the petitioner," Justice Rath specified in his order.

"Looking to suffering of the petitioner for nearly two-and-a-half decades in the process of litigation, this court also awards a sum of Rs 10,000 as cost which amount also needs to be paid within four weeks from the date of communication of the order by the petitioner," the order further specified.