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Synopsis

The Delhi High Court has recently issued a directive compelling the Central government to disburse Rs 50 lakh in favor of the bereaved family of a security guard who succumbed to COVID-19 while on duty at Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital.

The bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad dismissed the arguments put forth by the Central government, the Director General of Health Services, and Safdarjung Hospital, who contended that the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package Insurance Scheme for healthcare workers engaged in the battle against COVID-19 could not be extended to contractual workers who were not directly involved in the care of COVID-19 patients.

Court stressed the necessity of interpreting the welfare scheme in a broad and inclusive manner.

Justice Prasad remarked, "The scheme was actually brought out as a measure to benefit the family members of persons who became martyrs in the line of duty while protecting thousands of persons affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.Taking such a narrow view actually goes against the spirit of the scheme, which was meant to provide immediate relief to persons who were tackling the situation and were protecting the lives of thousands of patients."

The case pertained to a petition filed by the widow of a security guard assigned to the hospital's OPD building patient registration counter. Tragically, the petitioner's husband contracted COVID-19 and passed away in June 2020.

In their defense, the respondents asserted that the security guard was not specifically assigned to care for COVID-19 patients, and consequently, his family should not benefit from the scheme.

Court noted that during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals without the means to access private testing facilities rushed to government hospitals. It was reasoned that an ordinary person might not be aware of the existence of a dedicated COVID-19 ward and would naturally approach either the OPD desk or the casualty ward to seek medical attention.

"It, therefore, cannot be said that the security guards who were posted at various places were not in direct contact with COVID-19 patients," the court said.

Court rejected the Central government's “narrow and overly technical position” and affirmed the petitioner's (the security guard's wife's) entitlement to the scheme's benefits.

Conclusively, it directed the respondents to disburse the sum of Rs 50 lakh to the security guard's widow within an eight-week timeframe.

Furthermore, Justice Prasad issued an additional directive instructing the Medical Superintendent of Safdarjung Hospital to forward documents related to the guard's demise to the Delhi government to examine the case of the late husband of the petitioner herein sympathetically, keeping in mind the fact that the petitioner's husband had lost his life in the line of duty.

Case Title: Sangeet Wahi v. Union of India and Ors.