MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on February 23 has directed the Maharashtra government to pay ₹50 lakh compensation to the widow of a peon employed with the Commissioner of Sales Tax, who died after contracting Covid-19 while on duty during the pandemic.
A division bench of Justices M.S. Karnik and S.M. Modak held that the employee was covered under a May 29, 2020 government resolution providing insurance cover or ex-gratia assistance to government staff who died due to Covid while performing duties.
The petitioner, Shusha Shinde, had approached the high court in 2024 after tax authorities rejected her claim under the scheme. Her husband had been called for duty during the pandemic and died on June 26, 2020.
The state contended that the scheme applied only to employees engaged in specific Covid-related activities such as survey, tracing, testing, treatment and relief work. “The payment under the scheme to an ineligible person would result in expanding the scope of the scheme,” the state said.
However, the bench said the government had adopted a “very narrow construction” of the resolution. Observing that the employee had contracted Covid while performing official duties, the court held that he must be treated as a worker involved in Covid-related work.
{{/usCountry}}However, the bench said the government had adopted a “very narrow construction” of the resolution. Observing that the employee had contracted Covid while performing official duties, the court held that he must be treated as a worker involved in Covid-related work.
{{/usCountry}}“Merely because he was not actively involved in Covid-related duties should not be a ground to deprive him of the benefits of the insurance cover,” the bench said.
The court also noted the role played by essential service workers during the pandemic and said denying them such benefits “would be discriminating, arbitrary and unfair”.
The bench quashed the Sales Tax Commissioner’s order rejecting the claim and directed the state to pay the compensation within 16 weeks.
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