JUDGMENT :

SONGKHUPCHUNG SERTO, J.

1. Heard Ms. K. Kikhi, learned counsel assisted by Mr. Pakinrichapbo, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner. Also heard Ms. A. Ayemi, learned Government Advocate appearing for the State respondent Nos. 1, 2, 5, 6, 7 & 8, Mr. N. Mozhui, learned counsel appearing for respondent Nos. 3 and 4 and Mr. Yangerwati, learned C.G.C. for respondent No. 9.

2. This writ petition is filed by the son of an unfortunate woman who died while she was being taken to district hospital for child delivery, praying for a direction to the respondents No. 1 to 4 to pay compensation for the death of his mother and the unborn baby, and also praying for a direction directing the respondent Nos. 5 & 6 to pay him and his family a sum of Rs. 20,000/- as per entitlement under the National Family Benefit Scheme (in short, NFBS).

3. The case of the petitioner as submitted by his learned counsel Ms. Kikhi is as follows:

That his mother namely Lt. Bema, who was pregnant with the 7th child, had labour pain at about 2 A.M. of 11/07/2016 and during the course of the labour, one arm of the baby emerged from the birth canal with the help of his father but since the baby could not fully come out they looked for a vehicle for hire and when they found it they started straight away for the district hospital at Mon which is about 130 Kms away from their village Monyakshyu. But while they were still on the way his mother died.

That as per the Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) Guidelines for Sub-Centres, Revised 2012, published by the Office of the Director General of Health Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, there are two categories of Sub-Centres i.e. Type-A and Type-B and, in the Type-B Sub-Centres basic facilities for conducting deliveries and new born care are to be made readily available. Therefore, the Sub-Centre in their village, which is Type-B Sub-Centre is suppose to have all those basic facilities for conducting deliveries. But since the Sub-Centre was also closed on that day and no proper facilities for delivery was available, his family were left with no choice but to take his mother to the district hospital.

That, as per the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY, in short), which is a scheme for safe motherhood intervention under the National Health Rural Mission, (in short, NHRM), an undertaking of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, Maternal Health Division and implemented in the State of Nagaland through the nodal agency; Nagaland State Health Society, a minimum of one ASHA is to be made available to such Sub-centres for effective implementation of the scheme and to perform the following duties:

1. Identify pregnant woman from BPL families as a beneficiary of the scheme and report to the ANM for registration.

2. Assist the pregnant woman to obtain BPL certification if BPL card is not available.

3. Provide and/or help the women in receiving at least three ANC, two TT injection, IFA tablets.

4. Counsel for institutional delivery.

5. Escort the beneficiary women to the pre-determined health centre and stay with her till the woman is discharged.

6. Arrange to immunize the newborn till the age of 10 weeks.

7. Register birth or death of the child or mother with the ANM/MO.

8. Post natal visits within 7 days of pregnancy and track mother's health.

9. Counsel for initiation of breastfeeding within one-hour of delivery and its continuance till 3-6 months, family planning.

And work of the ASHA is to be assessed based on the number of pregnant women she has been able to motivate to deliver in a health institution.

That as given in the scheme one amongst the duties of ASHA is to identify pregnant women from BPL families as beneficiary of the scheme and report to the ANM for registration. However, the ASHA of the village attached to the Sub-Centre never identified the petitioner's mother to