Delhi High Court orders Centre to pay ₹50 lakh to kin of Safdarjung Hospital security guard who died of COVID-19

The Delhi High Court recently ordered the Central government to release ₹50 lakh in favour of the family of a security guard who died of COVID-19 while working at Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital [Sangeet Wahi v. Union of India and Ors]..Justice Subramonium Prasad rejected the contention of the Central government, the Director General of Health Services and Safdarjung Hospital (respondents) that the benefit of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package Insurance Scheme for health workers fighting COVID-19 cannot be extended to contractual workers who were not in direct contact and care for COVID-19 related responsibilities.The Court said that the welfare scheme must necessarily receive a broad interpretation.“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 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,” Justice Prasad observed..The Court was hearing the plea filed by the widow of a security guard who was deployed at the Hospital's OPD building patient registration counter. The petitioner's husband contracted COVID-19 and passed away in June 2020.The respondents contended that the guard was not deployed for the care of COVID-19 patients and, therefore, his kin would not be entitled to the benefits of the Scheme..The Court observed that when the COVID-19 pandemic was raging, poor people who could not afford private testing centres were rushing to the government hospitals. A normal person would never know that there is a special COVID-19 ward and his normal reaction would be to approach either the OPD desk or the casualty ward of the hospital to meet the doctor."It, therefore, cannot be said that the security guards who were posted at various places were not in direct contact of Covid-19 patients," it said.The narrow and pedantic stand taken by the Central government cannot be accepted and the petitioner (wife of the security guard) is entitled to the benefit of Scheme, the Court held..It, therefore, directed the respondents to release the amount of ₹50 lakh in favour of the widow of the security guard within 8 weeks.Justice Prasad further ordered the Medical Superintendent, Safdarjung Hospital to send documents related to death of the guard to Delhi government so that they can examine his case sympathetically and consider release of the ex gratia compensation of ₹1 crore as promised to be given to the families of employees who died while on COVID-19 duty..Advocates Anu Mehta and Rubinder Ghumman appeared for Sangeet Wahi, the widow of the deceased security guard.The Delhi government was represented through Additional Standing Counsel Hetu Arora Sethi and Advocate Kavita Nailwal.Advocate Jaswinder Singh appeared for the Union of India.Advocate Abhishek Mishra represented New India Assurance Company Limited..[Read Judgment]