Lekha G
The Delhi High Court issued a notice in a plea seeking payment of INR one crore and 50 lakhs as ex-gratia to the family of each Judicial member and Court staff respectively who succumbed to Covid-19.
The plea also requested a direction to declare late Kovai Venugopal and Kamran Khan, Judicial Officers who recently succumbed to Covid-19 as frontline workers.
A Division bench comprising of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jasmeet Singh issued notice to the respondents namely GNCTD, Department of Finance, GNCTD, Department of Home Affairs, Delhi Secretariat, Department of Law and Justice, Delhi and Delhi High Court through its Registrar General.
The Petition had been moved by Advocate Tanveer Ahmed Mir which stated that the respondent authorities had shown “Little empathy towards such officers and their kith and kin” who had lost their lives while performing their duties without any fail as frontline warriors in the administration of justice.
The Plea stated that, “During this period of time a number of Court staff members belonging to the Lower Judiciary as well as Judicial Officers got infected but nevertheless attended the Court hearings, facilitated the same for the benefit of the general public at large.”
The Petition also stated that a considerable number of officers of the Lower Judiciary, Court Staff and Registry Officials were undergoing a harrowing experience of not being able to meet the medical expenses of their loved ones and coping up with the loss of life of their immediate relatives.
It was also contended that though the Delhi Government extended compensatory relief to the family of public officers and employees who died due to Covid serving as frontline workers, no such steps had been taken with regard to Judicial Officers, Court staff, and Registry Officials who bestowed to the justice delivery system at the cost of their lives and health including their family members right from April 2020.
The Plea further read that, “It is submitted that inaction on part of the respondents in providing no guarantees of medical reimbursement of medical expenses incurred at private hospitals at huge unbearable exorbitant rates, is also liable to be struck down and immediate directions need to be passed to instil confidence in the judicial community that all medical expenses would be reimbursed irrespective of whatever hospitals, private, semi-private are used for medical treatment. It is submitted that inaction on part of respondents No. 1 to 4 is in gross violation of the rights of the affected members under Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India.”
