MUMBAI: Holding the state government responsible for failing to protect a patient admitted to Pune’s Yerwada Mental Hospital, the Bombay High Court on Monday directed it to pay ₹22 lakh compensation to the widow and children of a man who was beaten to death by another inmate in 2013.HC holds state negligent in Yerwada patient death, orders ₹22 lakh payoutA division bench of Justices Manish Pitale and Shriram V. Shirsat said the state had failed in its duty of care towards patients under its custody and was “clearly responsible” for the violation of the fundamental rights of the deceased and the consequential violation of the rights of his family.The court was hearing a petition filed by the deceased’s widow and children seeking compensation for alleged negligence by hospital authorities. The petitioner contended that her husband’s death amounted to a “custodial death” as he was under the care and supervision of a state-run mental health facility.The deceased, who suffered from schizophrenia, was admitted to Yerwada Mental Hospital in 2013. On November 21 that year, his family was informed that he had been fatally assaulted the previous night by another patient suffering from poly-substance addiction with psychosis.According to the petition, hospital authorities later admitted that the incident occurred when there was inadequate staff on duty. The woman subsequently approached the high court seeking ₹29 lakh compensation.During the hearing, the state acknowledged the incident and informed the court that only three attendants were on duty in the observation ward, which housed 72 patients. However, it argued that compensation should be restricted to the amounts prescribed under the Maharashtra Victim Compensation Scheme, 2014, and a government resolution (GR) dealing with custodial deaths, which cumulatively amounted to ₹7 lakh.Rejecting the state’s stand, the bench noted that the number of attendants was “woefully inadequate” and failed to meet the “minimum facilities for patients in the mental hospital.”The court also found that authorities had failed to segregate violent patients from other inmates, describing it as a basic precaution expected from hospital officials and evidence of “gross negligence”.Observing that the death had left the family facing severe financial and emotional hardship, the court calculated compensation by taking into account the deceased’s income, future prospects, loss of dependency and consortium, arriving at nearly ₹17 lakh.Taking note of the fact that the deceased’s son suffers from 90% mental disability and requires lifelong care, the bench awarded an additional ₹5 lakh, directing the state to pay the total compensation of ₹22 lakh within eight weeks.