Annual Report 1999-2000 was informed that the Chief Medical Officer, Rai Bareilly, was found negligent for not obtaining the Medico-Legal Expert Report promptly. An adverse remark had also been noted in his confidential file. From the reports, the Commission noted that the bodily remains of the deceased were handed over to the complainant nine months after the death; this had resulted in mental agony to her and forced her to rush to Rai Bareilly to contact the authorities. The Commission held that this avoidable delay was directly attributable to the gross negligence of the State authorities at different levels. In the circumstances, the Commission recommended the payment of interim compensation of Rs. 10,000/- to the complainant by the Government of Uttar Pradesh within two months. The State Government has since paid the compensation. Death of an innocent person owing to negligence of the state electricity board: Bihar (Case No. 2010/4/98-99) The Commission received a complaint from Smt Ranjana Singh alias Ranju, a resident of Daltonganj, Palamu, Bihar, alleging that on 2 August 1996, her husband, Satyabrat Narain Singh, had come in contact with a live electric wire lying in front of Morehouse Patna, as a result of which he was electrocuted and had died. She attributed the death of her husband to the negligence of the Bihar State Electricity Board (BSEB). She also stated that the BSEB had failed to atvard her any compensation, though in a similar case, the Supreme Court had awarded compensation. The complainant stated that she was facing an acute financial crisis, and was on the verge of starvation, and was also unable to meet the expenditure required for the education of her minor sons. She sought an enquiry into the matter and of suitable compensation to be awarded to her. In response to the notice, the Government of Bihar, in its report, stated that the late Satyabrat Narain Singh, husband of the complainant,, had died of electrocution at Rajinder Nagar, Patna, for which a case dated 5 August 1996 was registered at the Kadam Kuan Police Station, Patna. The report also brought out that the post-mortem on the body of the deceased had been conducted at Patna Medical College and Hospital and that the cause of death was stated to be electrocution. The report of the Secretary, BSEB, confirmed that the L.T. line and live wire of the transmission/distribution line of the Bihar State Electricity Board was broken due to a heavy storm on 2 August 1996, and that Shri Satyabrat Narain Singh had touched the live wire and had died due to electrocution. The report also stated that no compensation was paid to the wife of the deceased by the BSEB, as her husband had died following a natural calamity. The Commission noted that there was no material on record to show that the storm, which had allegedly led to the breaking of the live wire, was of such intensity or unprecedented severity in nature, that the concerned authorities responsible for the installation and maintenance of the transmission/distribution lines, could not have 122