Electricity Dept Played Pivotal Role In Fight Against Covid: Rajasthan High Court Grants 70 Lakhs Ex-Gratia Payment To Deceased Employee's Wife

This week, Rajasthan High Court has directed Jodhpur Vidyut Vitran Nigam (JdVVNL) Ltd to disburse the ex-gratia amount of Rs 70 Lakhs to the dependent an executive engineer who succumbed to Covid-19 while working on duty.

The single-judge bench of Dr. Justice Pushpendra Singh Bhati observed in the judgment that the petitioner-wife's husband, who was an executive engineer, played an instrumental role in ensuring the continuous supply of electricity to Covid Care Centres.

“…the pandemic was a time of terror… to ensure the smooth functioning of the Health Sector various other departments of the Government were involved, one of them being the Electricity Department which played a pivotal role in ensuring the continuous supply of electricity to Hospitals and Quarantine Centres/Covid Care Centres, and thus, the personnel belonging to that department played an equally important role in the collective fight against the Covid 19 Virus”, the bench sitting at Jodhpur opined.

It is pertinent to note here that the Finance Department of Rajasthan, on 11.04.2020, proposed Rs 50 Lakhs as ex-gratia amount to the dependents of those who died due to Covid-19 virus, while on duty in the fight against the pandemic. On 05.06.2020, JdVVNL adopted and approved the said proposal and inserted an additional Sub-Regulation 2(i) below the existing Regulation of 29 A (2) in the JdVVNL Pension Regulations, 1988 that already provided for the payment of Rs 20 lakhs as ex gratia.

Returning to the case of the petitioner, the single-judge bench noted that the supervising Chief Engineer himself had admitted in the letter to the Superintending Engineer that the deceased got infected by the virus while discharging his duties in the fight against the pandemic. On top of that, the Chief Engineer had also conceded that the deceased had visited the Covid Care Centre at Balotra to restore power supply prior to his hospitalisation due to Covid. The employee died from multi-organ failure due to Covid-19 on 12.09.2020.

Though the wife of the executive engineer submitted an application for the ex-gratia amount of Rs 70 lakhs on account of her husband's death, it was rejected by the Secretary (Administration) of JdVVNL via an order dated 18.01.2021. The entire claim was allegedly rejected for the lack of conclusive proof that her husband died due to Covid -19 virus contracted while he was on duty. This order was challenged by the petitioner-wife in the proceedings before the High Court.

Justice Bhati, after perusing the RTPC test, death certificate and the letter dated 04.03.2021 written by the Chief Engineer, opined that the deceased falls within the category of persons covered by newly inserted Sub Regulation 2(i). In the judgment, the court pointed out that the respondent JdVVNL itself has incorporated the payment of additional Rs 50 lakhs proposed by the Finance Department, along with the existing ex-gratia of 20 lakhs stipulated in the pension regulations.

“….thus in the opinion of this Court, once it is established that the present petitioner (wife of deceased) is entitled to receive the compensation so accorded to families similarly situated as that of the present petitioner, such compensation should not be denied to the petitioner. Moreover the respondents, as reflected from the record, do not dispute the entitlement of the petitioner to receive the ex gratia amount of Rs.20 lakhs”, the court concluded, after mentioning the already existing ex-gratia amount in pension regulations.

Rajasthan High Court, after listing the above reasons, quashed the impugned order issued by JdVVNL and directed the respondents to pay Rs 70 lakhs as compensation to the wife of deceased employee. If a scenario arises such that the ex-gratia amount is not paid in full within 3 months, then the authorities will be liable to pay interest on the payable amount at the rate of 9% per annum.

Advocate Rajat Arora represented the petitioner. Advocate Dinesh Kumar Joshi appeared for the respondents.

Case Title: Sugan Prajapat W/o Late Shri Megha Ram Prajapat v. Jodhpur Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd., Through Its Managing Director & Anr.

Case No: S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 7194/2022

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Raj) 22

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