Employee's Death Attributable To Government Service Conditions; Entitled To Extraordinary Pension & Ex-Gratia Compensation : Delhi HC

Background Facts

The late Inspector (General Duty) was working in the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBPF) for over three decades. He held various postings in extreme hard areas like Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Leh-Ladakh, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh. He suffered a cardiac condition when he was posted with the 54th Battalion at Ziro, Arunachal Pradesh. Later he passed away on March 18, 2016, in Guwahati, Assam. He died because his condition required immediate medical attention but there were delays in transportation and treatment.

The widow of late Inspector sought ex-gratia compensation and an extraordinary pension under Rule 3-A of the Central Civil Services (Extraordinary Pension) Rules, 1939. But she was denied the benefits. She filed applications under the Right to Information Act, 2005, for requesting the details about the inquiry into her husband's death, medical records, and reasons for the denial of benefits. But her applications were rejected by the respondents.

In 2021, the respondents disbursed Rs. 3,81,000 as leave encashment to her. The petitioner issued a legal notice on October 8, 2021 to the respondents as she was unsatisfied with the partial relief. She demanded an ex-gratia amount of Rs. 35 lakh. However, the respondents again rejected her claim by passing order dated December 24, 2021.

Aggrieved by the same, the petitioner filed the writ petition for quashing the rejection order and to direct the respondents to grant the ex-gratia amount, extraordinary pension, arrears, and interest.

It was contended by the petitioner that her husband's death was due to negligence and insensitivity of the respondents. It was argued that the superior officers failed to ensure timely and adequate medical treatment despite her husband's critical cardiac condition. He died due to the delay in transporting him to hospital. It was highlighted by the petitioner that her husband had always been in good health. He was classified as medically fit (SHAPE-1) during his last Annual Medical Examination in 2014-15.

It was further submitted by the petitioner that the deceased passed away when he was on “active duty” in a Hard Area posting of the 54th Battalion. The Standing Order No. 02/2016 of ITBPF categorized the location of the 54th Battalion (Bhalukpong) as a Hard Area. The petitioner referred to the Office Memorandum (OM) dated August 4, 2016, issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoP&T). It says that since petitioner was the Next of Kin, so she was entitled to the maximum gratuity and extraordinary pension as the deceased had served over 20 years and passed away in a high-altitude, inaccessible border post. It was further argued that the deceased's medical conditions were attributable to or aggravated by his prolonged service in extreme weather conditions.

On the other hand it was contended by the respondents that the petitioner's claim for ex-gratia compensation was inadmissible under paragraph 12.1 OM dated August 4, 2016. It was further contended by the respondents that the Base Hospital, Delhi, ITBPF, found out that the cause of the death was acute anterior wall myocardial infarction with complete heart block, cardiogenic shock, acute kidney injury, and coronary artery disease triple vessel disease. This falls under the category of natural death. Therefore death cannot be attributed to the service conditions. It was further emphasized that Rule 3-A of the Central Civil Services (Extraordinary Pension) Rules only applies when death can be directly attributed to or aggravated by government service conditions like hostile work environment, extreme weather conditions, or occupational hazards. The respondents also highlighted that the petitioner had already received multiple financial benefits.

Findings of the Court

It was observed by the court that the deceased was exposed to a challenging environment when he was posted in hard and extreme hard areas during his service. It was also noted that the petitioner's husband was heathy as he was categorized under the SHAPE-1 medical category during physical tests. It was observed by the court that the claimant should be given the benefit of reasonable doubt, especially when the death occurred during the field service.

It was further observed by the court that the respondents failed to provide the petitioner with the requested medical records or any inquiry proceedings related to the death. It was concluded by the court that the circumstances surrounding the death of the petitioner's husband like lack of timely medical intervention, were also related to his service conditions. Thus, the death fell under Category 'B' of the EOP Rules. Therefore, the petitioner is entitled to Extraordinary Pension.

It was further held by the court that the petitioner was the Next of Kin of the deceased, therefore she is also entitled to grant of ex-gratia compensation of Rs.35 lakhs in terms of the clause 12.1 of OM dated 04.08.2016 as her husband's death occurred under circumstances connected to his service. Therefore it was directed by the Court to the respondents to pay the compensation along with 8% interest per annum and to sanction the Extraordinary Pension with arrears within 12 weeks.

With the aforesaid observations, the writ petition was allowed.

Case Name : Seema Jamwal vs. Union of India and Ors.

Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Del) 119

Case No. : W.P.(C) 9319/2022

Counsel for the Petitioner : Ankur Chhibber, Adv.

Counsel for the Respondents : Anshum