Mumbai: In a relief to the family of a municipal sweeper who died after contracting Covid-19 while on frontline duty, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday directed authorities to fast-track payment of Rs50 lakh ex-gratia compensation. The court held that procedural technicalities cannot override the substance of the claim.
Petition by Legal Heirs
A bench of Justices MS Karnik and SM Modak was hearing a petition filed by the legal heirs of late Unmesh Sharad Kulkarni, a Class IV employee with the Manmad Municipal Council, who died in March 2021 after being deployed to tackle the Covid surge.
31 Years of Service
According to the petitioner’s advocate Alankar Kirpekar, Kulkarni had served the municipal body for nearly 31 years. In January 2021, he was assigned as force staff at Covid facilities. He later contracted the virus and was admitted to a private hospital, where he died while still in service. His family sought compensation under a 2022 Government Resolution granting Rs50 lakh to families of municipal employees who died due to Covid.
Portal Error Delays Claim
The claim was delayed because the hospital failed to upload Kulkarni’s details on the ICMR portal — an error it later admitted was due to lack of training. Despite certificates confirming Covid as the cause of death, the proposal remained pending since 2021.
Documents Under Scrutiny
Advocate for municipal council, Shriram Kulkarni, submitted that they had forwarded the necessary documents to the government. However, additional government pleader Pooja Patil submitted that it would take four weeks to scrutinise the documents submitted by the municipal council.
Court Flags Family Agony
The court said forcing the family into another round of scrutiny would only prolong their suffering. “To again subject the proposal to a detailed verification… would amount to adding to the agony of the family of the deceased employee,” the bench observed.
Private Hospital Objection Rejected
Rejecting objections that Kulkarni was treated in a private hospital rather than a government facility, the judges called such insistence “arbitrary and unjust”, especially since the rules were framed after his death. The court emphasized that the key issue was whether the employee died after contracting Covid during frontline duty.
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Technicalities Not Supreme
“The requirements… are procedural formalities, purely technical in nature,” the bench said, adding that once the cause of death is established, the hospital’s status becomes irrelevant.
10-Week Payment Deadline
The court directed the Nashik Collector to immediately process and forward the proposal, treating the documents as genuine. It ordered that approvals be granted within weeks and compensation be paid within 10 weeks, warning that “any attempt to delay or defeat the claim on technical considerations shall be viewed seriously.”
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