LI Network
Published on: February 15, 2024 at 12:30 IST
The Rajasthan High Court has instructed Jodhpur Vidyut Vitran Nigam (JdVVNL) Ltd to disburse a substantial ex-gratia payment of Rs 70 lakhs to the widow of an executive engineer who lost his life to Covid-19 while on duty.
The decision, handed down by the single-judge bench of Dr. Justice Pushpendra Singh Bhati, highlighted the significant contribution of the petitioner’s husband, an executive engineer, in ensuring uninterrupted electricity supply to Covid Care Centers during the pandemic.
The court emphasized, “…the Electricity Department played a pivotal role in ensuring the continuous supply of electricity to Hospitals and Quarantine Centres/Covid Care Centres, and thus, the personnel belonging to that department played an equally important role in the collective fight against the Covid-19 Virus.”
It’s noteworthy that the Finance Department of Rajasthan had proposed an ex-gratia amount of Rs 50 lakhs for dependents of those who died due to Covid-19 while on duty in the fight against the pandemic.
JdVVNL subsequently adopted and approved this proposal, enhancing it by inserting an additional Sub-Regulation 2(i) in the JdVVNL Pension Regulations, 1988.
In this specific case, the Court observed that the deceased executive engineer contracted the virus while performing his duties and succumbed to multi-organ failure on September 12, 2020.
Despite the widow’s application for the ex-gratia amount being initially rejected by JdVVNL, Justice Bhati, after thorough examination of relevant documents, concluded that the widow is entitled to receive the compensation.
The Court directed JdVVNL to quash the earlier order and instructed the respondents to promptly disburse Rs 70 lakhs as compensation to the deceased employee’s wife. In case of any delay, authorities would be liable to pay interest at the rate of 9% per annum.