Rajasthan Civil Services (Pension) Rules 1996 | Family Of Govt Employee Who Died While On Duty Due To Heart Attack Entitled To Ex-Gratia Amount: High Court

The Rajasthan High Court (“the Court”) has reiterated that if a government servant dies while being on duty on account of heart failure, he is entitled to an ex-gratia amount under Rule 75 of the Rajasthan Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1996 (“the Rules”). Rule 75 of the Rules provides for situations in which the family of a government servant who dies while on duty is entitled to an ex-gratia grant.

The bench of Justice Ganesh Ram Meena was hearing a petition filed by the widow of a government servant. The petitioner's husband was a police officer working in the post of assistant sub-inspector. He suffered a heart attack while being on duty at the police station which led to his death. The petition was filed to seek an appropriate order from the Court directing the government to release ex-gratia amount to her.

This claim was countered by the government on the ground that ex-gratia amount was not payable in case of death occurring due to a heart attack since it was not covered in Rule 75 of the Rules. The objection raised was that Rule 75 entitles for such ex-gratia amount when the government servant dies due to an injury inflicted or caused in consequence of his/her official position or during the performance of his/her official duties.

The Court referred to certain cases to clarify the stance on this point. In the Supreme Court case of Mst. Param Pal Singh through Father v M/s National Insurance Co. & Anr., a driver while driving an insured truck, during the course of his employment, suffered a heart attack and died. The insurance company had argued that there was no connection between the death of the driver and his employment since the death was the consequence of natural causes. The Supreme Court held that there was a causal connection between the two.

The High Court also referred to a coordinate bench decision of the Court in the case of Smt. Rameshwari Devi v State of Rajasthan & Ors. in which an ex-gratia payment was allowed where the government servant died due to a heart attack. It was held that the death occurred due to stress and strain that arose during a running test which was in the course of the deceased's employment. Hence, even if it could be accepted that the deceased was already suffering from a heart ailment, it could be safely stated that the injury was aggravated due to stress and strain.

In the background of the settled legal position, the Court held that since the deceased died while on duty due to a heart attack, the petitioner was entitled to the ex-gratia payment under Rule 75 of the Rules along with interest since the date of the death of her husband. Accordingly, the petition was allowed.

Title: Magan Bai Meena v State of Rajasthan & Anr.

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Raj) 132

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