ORDER

Hon’ble Dr. Amit Sahai, Member (A)

1. Applicant in the present Original Application seeks direction to the respondents to reimburse the medical bills amounting to Rs.82,673/- of his wife Smt. Indu Sharma, along with interest @ 12% per annum. This amount is the actual expenditure which he incurred for cancer treatment of his wife taken from the CGHS approved hospital at CGHS rates duly verified by the BMCH, Jaipur but denied by the respondents, therefore, the applicant has approached this Tribunal under Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985.

2. The facts of the case in brief are as under:-

2.1 The applicant joined the service on 05.04.1971 in Posts and Telegraphs Department as an employee of Ministry of Communication. On conversion of Department of Telecom (DoT) into Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) a Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE), he was absorbed in BSNL w.e.f. 01.10.2000. The BSNL introduced its own Medical Policy for its employees (serving as well as for retired) and made them eligible under the BSNL, Medical Reimbursement Scheme (MRS) Rules, notified from 24.02.2003 for reimbursement of medical expenses incurred by them as outdoor patient even from any RMP doctor and as indoor patient from approved empanelled hospitals and under emergency cases from non-empanelled/non-recognized hospitals. The applicant retired as Divisional Engineer on 31.01.2007 from Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited presently he is 75 years old. The PPO was issued to the applicant by CAO O/o CCA, Rajasthan Telecom Circle, Jaipur for payment of monthly pension w.e.f 01.02.2007 pursuant to which pension is being paid regularly. Thereafter, GMTD Jodhpur issued Medical Card No.1293 to the applicant on 06.09.2009.

2.2 The applicant’s wife Smt. Indu Sharma had a severe health problem. Cancer was developed in her right breast, a life risk disease. Accordingly, the MDM Hospital Jodhpur referred the case to a Multi Speciality Hospital for further treatment. The applicant decided to take his wife to Bhagwan Mahaveer Cancer Hospital & RC (BMCH & RC) at Jaipur, which was already authorised and approved hospital for cancer treatment with prescribed charges/rates fixed by CGHS and NABH. After taking permission from GMTD, Jodhpur, she was taken to BMCH at Jaipur for treatment. After various medical tests she was considered for cancer operation and finally admitted at BMCH & RC at Jaipur on 25.02.2013 and operated upon on 27.02.2013 for breast cancer. She was discharged from hospital on 05.03.2013. Thereafter, the periodical follow-up treatment started for chemotherapies and radio-therapies at intervals which continued till she expired on 27.01.2018. All the periodical indoor treatments were taken under duly intimation/permission with payment of all the bills duly paid from February, 2013 to October, 2017, except two onward bills for the month of November, 2017 and December, 2017. Thereafter, both the medical bills duly completed and verified by BMCH & RC Jaipur in respect of the treatments amounting to Rs.52,229/- for the period from 24.11.2017 to 25.11.2017 and Rs. 30,444/- for the period from 14.12.2017 to 16.12.2017 respectively with total amount of Rs.82,673/- were submitted on 12.03.2018 to the respondents for payment.

2.3 Instead of making payment of the above medical bills the GMTD Jodhpur raised queries vide letter dated 03.08.2018 which were replied vide reply dated 11.09.2018, by the applicant on each and every point raised by the respondents but unfortunately the same was rejected by the respondents vide letter dated 22.01.2019 (Annexure A/1). Being aggrieved by the action of the respondents in denying the reimbursement, the applicant has preferred this Original Application for redressal of his grievance.

3. Learned counsel for the applicant placed reliance upon the judgment of Hon’ble Apex Court rendered in the case of Shiva Kant Jha Vs. Union of India, reported in AIR 2018 SC 1975, wherein the Hon’ble Supreme Court opined that the t