The Kerala High Court on Tuesday expressed deep shock over the tragic death of 22 people in the Thanur boat mishap in Malappuram district and pulled up the state government for inaction against officers responsible for the tragic boat accidents

Initiating a suo motu proceedings in the case, a division bench of the high court comprising Justice Devan Ramachandran and Justice  Shoba Annamma Eapen said their “hearts were bleeding” and they “underwent sleepless nights” after seeing the lifeless bodies of the children.

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Calling the boat mishap as “shocking” and “haunting”, the court asked why the authorities allowed the vessel to operate by allegedly flouting rules.

The bench said that the tragic incident would not have occurred had the concerned authorities done their jobs by ensuring that tourist boats, such as the one involved in the Thanur accident, complied with safety standards.

“Had the officers and authorities invested with the vital legal and statutory duty to watch and monitor, done so, this mishap, like several others, never would have happened. Their responsibility and onus is not lesser, if not much more than that of the operators, since it is because the latter’s illegal actions obtained deliberate or other support, that violations are perpetrated with no fear of law,” the court observed.

The court said such accidents have been happening in the state since 1924 with “frightening regularity” solely due to the deadly cocktail of callousness, greed and official apathy.

“From ‘Redeemer’ which capsized in Jan 1924 drowning Mahakavi Kumaranashan and 34 others; to ‘Jalakanyaka’ which went down in water in 2009 at Idukki killing 45, and other Poseidon tragedies with fewer fatalities happening with frightening regularity, citizens seem justifiably indurated to the news of loss of lives caused solely by the deadly cocktail of callousness, indifference, greed, and official apathy,” the court said.

The court arraigned the Kerala government, the District Tourism Promotion Council of Malappuram, the police chief and Collector of the district, Tanur Municipality, Port Officer, Alappuzha and senior Port Conservator, Beypore as initial respondents in the case which is slated to be heard next on 12 May. it also directed Malappuram District Collector  to file a report on the matter keeping in mind his additional role of chairperson of the District Disaster Management Authority.

The court said many more such incidents may happen “unless we put our foot firmly down” as the “patently visible” causal factors of overloading, blatant violation of statutory laws and skipping of essential safety requirements were being repeated with impunity and without fear, care or caution.

“How many more (such incidents) will we have to see? Many more, unless we now put our foot firmly down because the conspicuous and patiently visible causal factors – overloading, blatant violation of statutory imperatives, and criminal absence of essential safety requirements, even life jackets – are repeated with impunity, without any fear, care or caution… The obdurate refusal to follow and enforce the most basic safety protocols, which are taken of granted in the civilised world- is the most infuriating, to say the least. More so, since our state has hundreds of boats in tourism, a further such incident, though unthinkable, is waiting to happen somewhere, someplace, if the present state of affairs are allowed to continue,” the Court said in its order.

The court further said had the officials been held accountable for such tragedies in the past, the latest one could have been avoided. Every time such tragedies occur, the state government immediately steps in and gives monetary compensation which is welcome.

On Monday, the Kerala government announced a judicial probe into the matter and decided to give a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the kin of the deceased. “However, has the money been recovered from the officials concerned? Was any such action taken against them in the past? If people had been held accountable, it (Tanur boat accident) may not have happened. To prevent it from happening again, fear of the law must enter everyone’s hearts,” the bench said.