Back
JUDGMENT :
(PER M.S.KARNIK, J.)
1. By this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioners who are the legal heirs of the late employee who died due to Corona virus, are seeking directions to respondents no.1 to 5 to release the amount of Rs. 50,00,000/- towards Covid compensation.
2. The facts of the case in brief are that late Shri Unmesh Sharad Kulkarni joined the services of Manmad Municipal Council (‘Municipal Council’, for short) as Class IV employee with effect from 29/06/1990. The Municipal Council issued a letter dated 09/01/2021 appointing late Shri Unmesh Kulkarni as force staff to tackle Covid-19 surge at Dr. Babasaheb Amebedkar Playground and Railway Institute. Late Shri Unmesh Kulkarni died in harness due to Covid-19 while serving as Class IV employee on 29/03/2021. The Chief Officer of the Municipal Council submitted a report dated 22/11/2021 to the Respondent No.3 - District Administrative Officer, Urban Development Branch, Nashik enclosing the following documents.
a. Original Appointment Order of Late Unmesh Sharad Kulkarni.
b. Office Order issued to Late Unmesh Sharad Kulkarni during Covid-19 period.
c. Medical report of Late Unmesh Sharad Kulka
The court ruled that formal documentation is not strictly necessary for ex gratia compensation if the employee's duties inherently involved exposure to Covid-19, especially during the pandemic.
The court ruled that the absence of an RTPCR test certificate does not preclude compensation claims for frontline workers who died from Covid-19 while performing their duties.
Preponderance of probability suffices for COVID-19 duty death benefits via symptoms, hospital records despite no RTPCR; rejection ignoring evidence and delayed committee opinion set aside, directing ....
Benevolent COVID-19 ex-gratia schemes for essential duty employees extend to supervisory staff exposed to equivalent infection risks as frontline workers; narrow literal interpretation rejected.
A deceased government employee who succumbed to COVID-19 while on duty should be recognized as a Covid-19 Warrior under the government's guidelines, and the rejection of entitlement based on contradi....
Government employee dying of COVID-19 after 30.06.2021 cut-off but on duty within 14 days before hospitalization entitled to ex-gratia benefits under GRs; strict cut-off not sacrosanct if hospitalize....
Authority must consistently apply its guidelines and cannot contradict its own documents pertaining to eligibility for public benefits.
An indispensable Tool for Legal Professionals, Endorsed by Various High Court and Judicial Officers
Please visit our Training & Support
Center or Contact Us for assistance
Scan Me!
India’s Legal research and Law Firm App, Download now!
For Daily Legal Updates, Join us on :
Back to top
