The Delhi High Court has ordered the Union of India to give Rs 50 lakh to the wife of a security guard, who died due to Covid-19 during his duty at Safdarjung Hospital.
The single-judge Bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad further directed the Delhi government to consider paying Rs one crore compensation to Sangeeta Wahi, wife of the deceased as he had lost his life ‘in the line of duty’.
The High Court rejected the submission made by the Union government that only such persons who were posted in the Covid-19 wards or centres, were covered by the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package: Insurance scheme for health workers fighting Covid-19.
The writ petition filed by Wahi claimed the benefit of an insurance package announced by the Centre under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package: Insurance scheme for health workers fighting Covid-19
The plea further claimed benefits of the scheme announced by the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of NCT for grant of ex-gratia compensation of Rs one crore to the families of the employees who died due to Covid-19 on June 14, 2020, while on duty during the pandemic.
The petitioner contended that her husband, late Dilip Kumar, was working as a Security Guard at the Safdarjung Hospital, wherein he was deployed at the Hospital’s OPD Building patient registration counter.
The counsel representing the Union of India submitted that Dilip was not deployed for the care of Covid-19 patients and therefore, he was not entitled to the scheme. He further said that the petitioner’s husband was an employee of the security agency and not deployed in direct Covid-19 duty.
The counsel appearing for the state government said that the scheme announced by the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of NCT for grant of ex-gratia compensation of Rs one crore would apply only to the families of those employees who died due to the pandemic while on Covid-19 duty and were deployed by it.
However, the High Court said that the Central government could not take such a narrow approach that only such persons who were posted in a Covid-19 ward or centre would be covered by the scheme.
The single-judge Bench said the scheme was actually brought out as a measure to benefit the family members of persons who became martyrs in the line of duty while protecting thousands of persons affected by the pandemic.
It said taking such a ‘narrow’ view actually went against the spirit of the scheme, which was meant to provide immediate relief to persons tackling the situation and protecting the lives of thousands of patients.
Justice Prasad said that this Court could take judicial notice of the fact that any person having mildest of the symptoms of Covid-19 was getting himself/herself tested. Poor people who could not afford private testing centres were rushing to Government hospitals.
A normal person would never know there was a special Covid-19 ward and his normal reaction would be to approach either the OPD desk or the casualty ward of the hospital to meet the Doctor.
He said at that point of time, to streamline the queue, the services of security guards were availed. The security guards also directed the people to Departments where the patients had to approach in order to get themselves treated.
Therefore, it could not be said that the late husband of the petitioner herein, who died of Covid-19 which he may have contracted in the Hospital, was not in direct contact with the Covid-19 patients, added Justice Prasad.
The High Court said the ‘narrow and pedantic’ stand taken by the Union of India could not be accepted. It said the pandemic struck the country in March, 2020, leading to loss of lakhs of lives.
As per the Bench, police officials, healthcare workers, Doctors and Paramedics were braving the pandemic and were in the line of duty to provide assistance to persons who fell victims to the life-taking virus.
The High Court, while taking in view the Delhi government’s circular of July 27, 2020, directed the Safdarjung Hospital’s administration to send the name of the deceased along with requisite documents for payment of ex-gratia sum of Rs one crore.
Advocates Rubinder Ghumman and Anu Mehta appeared for the petitioner.