HC asks UP govt to pay Rs 50 lakh to widow of head constable who died of Covid

Lucknow, Jul 8 (PTI) The Allahabad High Court has directed the Uttar Pradesh government to pay Rs 50 lakh as ex-gratia compensation to the widow of a head constable who died of COVID-19 while performing pandemic-related duties, holding that government employees engaged in essential services during the outbreak of the disease must be treated as being on "COVID duty". The Lucknow bench of the court quashed the state government's order rejecting the compensation claim of Semma Bharti, the widow of late head constable Balwant Pratap, and directed that the amount be released within eight weeks. The petitioner's claim, filed under the state government's April 11, 2020, Government Order, was rejected on the ground that the deceased was not engaged in duties related to Covid prevention, treatment or containment. A bench of Justices Shekhar B Saraf and A K Chaudhary, however, pointed out that official records, including certificates issued by the chief medical officer and the police department, established that the deceased was deployed for Covid prevention and control, spreading public awareness and assisting infected persons. It also noted that the police department had recommended paying ex-gratia compensation to his family. Relying on its earlier rulings, the court observed that the expression "COVID duty" cannot be interpreted narrowly to include only those directly involved in treating patients in hospitals. It held that government employees serving in the police, electricity, water-supply, telephone and other essential-services departments during the pandemic should be treated as being on Covid duty as their work helped the state curb the spread of the virus and supported the treatment and protection of patients. The court said such employees played a crucial role in maintaining essential public services during the pandemic and deserved recognition as Covid warriors. It held that the deceased clearly fell within the ambit of the government policy providing compensation to employees who contracted COVID-19 while discharging pandemic-related duties and consequently, set aside the rejection order dated August 27, 2024. PTI COR CDN RC