Disposed¶9

Kuntadevi v. Government of NCT of Delhi & Anr.

Delhi HC16 May 2025W.P.(C)/14743/2023

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Delhi High Court, W.P.(C) 14743/2023, Sachin Datta, J., 16.05.2025: widow of EDMC field worker who died of COVID-19 in service; GNCTD ex-gratia Scheme of Rs.1 crore; EDMC Rs.10 lakh already paid; directions to Chief Secretary GNCTD and Commissioner MCD to process and disburse within eight weeks; compliance on 03.09.2025; petition disposed of.

What did the court decide?

Petition disposed of with directions to the Chief Secretary, GNCTD and Commissioner, MCD to depute a responsible officer to interactively process the petitioner's ex-gratia claim; disbursement within eight weeks if the case qualifies; compliance reporting listed for 03.09.2025; concerned officers/officials of GNCTD and MCD to remain present in Court in case of non-compliance. ¶9

Kuntadevi Vs Government of NCT of Delhi & Anr. — Delhi HC (2025) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

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Issue for consideration

Whether the petitioner, as legal heir (wife) of late Sh. Ramesh, an EDMC employee who died of COVID-19 in the course of employment, is entitled to and should receive the additional ex-gratia amount of Rs.1,00,00,000/- announced by GNCTD for eligible family members of deceased persons, and whether it will be disbursed without further delay.

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Court's answer

The Chief Secretary, GNCTD, and the Commissioner, MCD, are directed to depute a responsible officer to interactively process the petitioner's case for grant of ex-gratia compensation to the family of the deceased.

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Ratio / Principle

If the case qualifies for grant of ex-gratia compensation, it shall be disbursed to the concerned family members of the deceased within eight weeks.

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Key takeaways

In case of non-compliance, the concerned Officer/Official of the GNCTD and the MCD shall remain present in Court on the next date of hearing.ratio¶11

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Writ Petition (Kuntadevi v. GNCTD & Anr.), decided 16.05.2025 by Sachin Datta, J.: The petitioner, widow and legal heir of late Sh. Ramesh, a permanent East Delhi Municipal Corporation field worker who died of COVID-19 on 03.10.2020, sought the additional ex-gratia of Rs.1,00,00,000/- under a GNCTD Scheme, EDMC's compensation of Rs.10,00,000/- having already been paid. With the claim pending for years owing to non-transmission of particulars from MCD to GNCTD, the Court directed the Chief Secretary, GNCTD and the Commissioner, MCD to depute a responsible officer to interactively process the claim, ordered disbursement within eight weeks if the case qualifies, listed the matter for compliance on 03.09.2025, and directed personal presence of concerned officials in the event of non-compliance. Petition disposed of accordingly.

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$~18

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

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- W.P.(C) 14743/2023 KUNTADEVI .....Petitioner Through: Mr. Ravi Kant, Advocate (through VC) along with Mr. Manish Kr. Shekhari and Mr. Hemant Dixit, Advocates.

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versus

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GOVERNMENT OF NCT OF DELHI & ANR. .....Respondents Through: Ms. Avni Singh, Advocate for GNCTD.

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CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SACHIN DATTA O R D E R

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% 16.05.2025

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The present petition has been filed by the wife of late Sh. Ramesh, who was a permanent employee of East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) and was working as a field worker in Public Health Department of the EMCD.

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It is submitted that the petitioner’s husband contracted COVID-19 during the course of his employment and passed away on 03.10.2020.

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It is pointed out that the EMCD, in accordance to its office order no. Addl.MHO/EDMC/HQ/2020/D-26 dated 19.05.2020 and Corrigenda no. Addl.MHO/EDMC/HQ/2020/D-61 dated 01.06.2020, announced a compensation of Rs.10,00,000/- (Rupees Ten Lakhs Only) to the petitioner [being a legal heir (wife) of deceased Late Sh. Ramesh]. The said compensation has already been disbursed to the petitioner.

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It is submitted by the learned counsel on behalf of the petitioner that the respondent no.1/Government of NCT of Delhi (GNCTD) had also

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This is a digitally signed order.

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The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 01/07/2025 at 22:33:32

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announced a Scheme, in terms of which, an additional ex-gratia amount of Rs.1,00,00,000/- (Rupees One Crore) is to be paid to the eligible family members of the deceased person.

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The existence of the Scheme is not denied by the learned counsel appearing for the GNCTD. However, it is stated that the disbursement/payment of ex-gratia amount is impeded on account of the fact that the relevant particulars has not been received by the GNCTD from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi(MCD).

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It is noticed that the matter has been pending for several years and the MCD and the GNCTD have not acted with alacrity for the purpose of processing of ex-gratia compensation in respect of the deceased husband of the petitioner.

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In the circumstances, the Chief Secretary, GNCTD, as also the Commissioner, MCD are directed to depute a responsible officer to interactively process the case of the petitioner for grant of ex-gratia compensation to the family of the deceased.

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If the case qualifies for grant of ex-gratia compensation, the same shall be disbursed to the concerned family members of the deceased within a period of eight weeks from today.

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The petition is disposed of in the above terms.

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List for reporting compliance on 03.09.2025.

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In case of non-compliance, the concerned Officer/Official of the GNCTD and the MCD shall remain present in Court on the next date of hearing.

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SACHIN DATTA, J

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MAY 16, 2025/r

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This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 01/07/2025 at 22:33:32

Kuntadevi v. Government of NCT of Delhi & Anr.

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Kuntadevi v. Government of NCT of Delhi & Anr.

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Why is it important?

What the court decided

Issues for consideration

Procedural history

Parties & counsel

Coram

Case details

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