Karachi court orders SSGC to pay Rs30m in fatal Orangi Town gas explosion case

KARACHI: A local court in Karachi has held Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) responsible for negligence in a case linked to the deaths of two people in a 2022 gas line explosion in Orangi Town’s Millat Colony, and directed the utility to pay Rs30 million in compensation to the affected family within one month.

The ruling was issued by Karachi West Senior Civil Judge Salman Amjad Siddiqui in a civil suit brought by a citizen, Aliza, whose parents died in the October 2022 explosion. The incident took place inside their home and, according to the case, was caused by a gas leak.

According to the petitioner’s lawyer, Advocate Usman Farooq, SSGC was responsible for gas supply and maintenance in the area. He argued before the court that residents had repeatedly complained about gas leakage, but the company did not fix the defective line.

The petitioner’s counsel said that this failure directly resulted in the deadly explosion. In the suit, the plaintiff had sought damages amounting to Rs42.8 million.

SSGC contested the claim

During the proceedings, counsel for SSGC rejected the allegations. The company’s side maintained that there had been no gas leakage from its line. The defence also argued that the claimant was not a registered SSGC consumer and said the compensation claim was therefore not maintainable.

The court, however, referred to evidence presented during the case and noted that an SSGC witness had acknowledged the gas cable produced by the plaintiff as genuine evidence. On that basis, the court concluded that the explosion had occurred because of gas leakage and found that the company had failed to take steps to prevent the incident.

Court observations and compensation order

In its observations, the court said a gas distribution company is under a legal obligation to protect the lives and property of citizens. Negligence in carrying out that duty had led to grave consequences in this case.

While accepting the plaintiff’s claim for damages under the Fatal Accidents Act, the court awarded compensation of Rs15 million for each of the two victims. It ordered SSGC to pay a total of Rs30 million to the plaintiff within the stipulated period of one month. The court ruled that the explosion occurred due to gas leakage and that the company failed to take preventive measures.

The case relates to an explosion in Orangi Town’s Millat Colony in October 2022, in which Aliza’s parents lost their lives. The latest order settles the civil suit by holding the gas utility liable for compensation over the deaths.