HPCL asked to pay Rs 25 lakh for man's death in cylinder blast

BENGALURU: Eight years after an LPG cylinder explosion at their residence in Vasanthapura, south Bengaluru, claimed the life of a 37-year-old man, the Karnataka State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has ordered oil major Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) to pay the bereaved family an enhanced compensation of nearly Rs 25 lakh, aside from Rs 1 lakh for deficient service and Rs 50,000 towards litigation costs.

The man's 32-year-old wife, who sustained 33% burns in the blast, died in 2022.

On March 17, 2016, a malfunctioning LPG cylinder exploded, when a mechanic sent by HPCL's distributor Sugam Enterprises was attending to it. The blast caused critical injuries to Alamelamma's son Manjesh and daughter-in-law Padma. While Manjesh died a few days later, Padma succumbed to the burns on Nov 15, 2022, during the pendency of the case proceedings before the consumer court.

Padma, Alamelamma and her grandchildren Vishal Raj and Ankitha lodged a complaint against HPCL, its chief regional manager, Sugam Enterprises, and United India Insurance Co Ltd. Arguing that all the parties named were responsible for the malfunctioning cylinder and the subsequent damage, the family claimed Rs 95 lakh as compensation.

While HPCL and its regional manager did not file their statements, its distributor remained ex parte.

In its recent verdict, the consumer forum held that the Rs 5.4 lakh compensation initially provided was inadequate, considering the damages and losses faced by the family, including the medical expenses and loss of income. The court enhanced the compensation to over Rs 25 lakh.


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