The court affirmed that requisitioning of medical professionals' services under the Epidemic Diseases Act during COVID-19 is essential for claiming benefits under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana.

JUDGMENT :

1. Leave granted.

2. The onset of COVID-19 pandemic at the dawn of 2020 was unprecedented in its global sweep and consequence. Not since the 1918 influenza pandemic, an event coeval with the first world war, had a single infectious disease inflicted such widespread crisis on human civilisation. The global death toll rising to millions, as revealed in the World Health Organisation’s data, presents a tragic picture of this disruption. While COVID-19 pandemic exposed an acute systemic fragility within the global healthcare sector, highlighted lack of preparedness and strained the capacity of health professionals, our doctors and health professionals rose as unwavering heroes, turning challenges into courage. Indian Medical Association’s COVID-19 registry records 748 doctors' deaths in the first wave and hundreds more in subsequent waves; one estimate noted around 798 doctors lost during the second wave alone.

3. Four years after the pandemic, when we are called upon to interpret the Government’s assurance under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojna, an insurance scheme for doctors and healthcare workers fighting Covid-19, we can neither forget the situation that prevailed in 2020, nor the purport of State’s assurance to the doctors who were ‘requisitioned’ invoking special laws and regulations. A claim for insurance by appellant no. 3, wife of a deceased doctor was rejected on the ground that there is no proof of ‘requisitioning’ of his services for Covid related duties. This decision was upheld by the High Court in the order impugned before us. We are called upon to examine if there is ‘requisitioning’ of the services of appellant no. 2. Tasked with this duty, we will now proceed to examine the laws, rules and regulation, by which requisitioning was done.

4. In exercise of powers conferred by sections 2, 3 & 4 of the EPIDEMIC DISEASES ACT , 1897, the Government of Maharashtra issued Prevention and Containment of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Regulations on 14.03.2020. Regulation 10 empowered the Municipal Commissioner to requisition the services of any person if so required.

Regulations 10 to 13 are extracted herein-below for ready reference:

“GOVERNMENT OF MAHARASHTRA

PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT

G.T. Hospital Compound, 10th Floor, New Mantralaya,

Mumbai 400 001

Dated 14th March, 2020

NOTIFICATION

No. Corona-2020/CR-58/Aarogya-5: Whereas State Government has decided to invoke provisions of Epidemic Disease Act, 1897 vide Notification No. Corona 2020/CR 58/Aarogya-5, dated 13th March, 2020 from the date of issue of the notification.

Therefore in exercise of the powers conferred under section 2, 3 & 4 of the EPIDEMIC DISEASES ACT , 1897, Government of Maharashtra is pleased to frame following Regulations for prevention and containment of Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19).

(…)

Regulation 10 - In the event of COVID-19 being reported from a defined geographic area such as village, town, ward, colony, settlement, the Collector of the concerned District/Municipal Commissioner of the concerned Municipal Corporation shall be competent to implement following containment measures, but not limited to these, in order to prevent spread of the disease.

i. Sealing of the geographical area.

ii. Barring entry and exit of population from the containment area.

iii. Restricting Vehicular Movement in the area.

iv. Closure of schools, offices, cinema halls, swimming pools, gyms, etc. and banning mass congregations, functions as may be deemed necessary.

v. Initiating active and passive surveillance of COVID-19 cases.

vi. Hospital isolation of all suspected cases and their contacts.

vii. Designa