Disposed

Mukul Medhi and Anr. v. the State of Assam and 3 Ors.

Gauhati HC4 Nov 2022WP(C)/570/2021

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

In this writ petition, the parents of a deceased flood victim sought ex-gratia payment under government notification. The Court directed the petitioners to file a detailed application before the Deputy Commissioner for verification of death circumstances and credentials, outlining a timeline for the DC's examination and subsequent departmental disbursement if approved.

What did the court decide?

Direction to file application before Deputy Commissioner for verification of claim under ex-gratia notification; timelines set for examination and disbursement.

Mukul Medhi and Anr. Vs the State of Assam and 3 Ors. — Gauhati HC (2022) — LawSathi Research

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GAHC010011472021

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THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH)

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Case No. : WP(C)/570/2021

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MUKUL MEDHI AND ANR.

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S/O- LT. KHARGESWAR MEDHI, R/O- VILL- TETELIAGURI, P.O. GANDHINAGAR, P.S. KHETRI, DIST.- KAMRUP (M), ASSAM, PIN- 782403

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2: RIMA MEDHI W/O- SRI MUKUL MEDHI R/O- VILL- TETELIAGURI P.O. GANDHINAGAR P.S. KHETRI DIST.- KAMRUP (M) ASSAM PIN- 78240

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VERSUS

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THE STATE OF ASSAM AND 3 ORS.

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REP. BY THE COMM. AND SECY. TO THE GOVT. OF ASSAM, REVENUE AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT DEPTT., DISPUR, GHY-06

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2:THE DY. COMMISSIONER OF KAMRUP (M) ASSAM P.O. AND P.S. PANBAZAR PIN- 781001

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3:THE CIRCLE OFFICER SONAPUR REVENUE CIRCLE P.O. AND P.S. SONAPUR DIST.- KAMRUP (M) ASSAM PIN- 782401 4:THE OFFICER-IN-CHARGE KHETRI P.S. DIST.- KAMRUP (M)

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ASSAM PIN- 782403

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5:COMMISSIONER AND SECRETARY GOVERNMENT OF ASSAM FINANCE DEPARTMENT DISPUR GUWAHATI-781006

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Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. R Deka

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Advocate for the Respondent : GA, ASSAM

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BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ACHINTYA MALLA BUJOR BARUA

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ORDER

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Date : 04-11-2022

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None appears for the petitioners when the matter is called. Heard Mr. S. Dutta, learned counsel for the respondent No. 1, Revenue and Disaster Management Department and Mr. C.K.S. Baruah, learned counsel for the respondents No. 2, 3 and 4, respectively being the Deputy Commissioner, Kamrup(M), the Circle Officer, Sonapur Revenue Circle and the Officer-InCharge, Khetri Police Station.

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The petitioners namely, Sri Mukul Medhi and Smt. Rima Medhi, respectively are father and mother of the deceased Raktim Medhi, who died due to drowning in flood water on 19.07.2020 at about 10.30 a.m. The post-mortem report dated 20.07.2020 provides the cause of death to be asphyxia as a result of ante-mortem drowning. In this respect, death certificate dated 14.09.2020 had also been issued. By referring to the notification dated 16.06.2015, the petitioners are claiming for the ex-gratia payment of Rs. 4,00,000/- provided therein. As per the police report available at Annexure 3 page 17 to the writ

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petition of the Investigating Officer, Khetri Police Station, the deceased died due to flood because of which the pond was over flooded and while he went for fishing, he fell down into the flooded water and as a result died.

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Prima facie it appears that the claim of the petitioners is made for payment of ex-gratia payment from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) as per the letter No. 327/2014-NDM-1 dated 08.04.2015, which is available at page 20 of the writ petition, wherein it is provided that an ex-gratia payment to the families of deceased persons of an amount of Rs. 4,00,000/- per deceased person would be payable subject to certification relating to cause of death from appropriate authorities. As Rs. 4,00,000/- of ex-gratia payment is provided under the aforesaid letter dated 08.04.2015 from the SDRF and NDRF, we require the petitioners to file an application before the Deputy Commissioner, Kamrup(M), stating in detail of their relationship with the deceased Raktim Medhi along with such details of the death that may be available. Upon such application being made, the Deputy Commissioner shall examine the matter and verify from their records as to under what circumstance the deceased Raktim Medhi died. If upon such examination, the Deputy Commissioner is of the view that the death of the deceased Raktim Medhi would also be included for ex-gratia payment under the aforesaid letter dated 08.04.2015, the Deputy Commissioner may pass a necessary order. In doing so, the Deputy Commissioner shall verify the credentials of the two petitioners as to whether they are respectively the father and mother of the deceased Raktim Medhi and as to whether any other next of kin of the deceased are also available for making the same claim and if yes, a no-objection from such other next of kin be obtained and also whether any payment in respect of deceased Raktim Medhi had already been made to any

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other person. If the examination results in a favourable consideration for the petitioners, the Deputy Commissioner may pass a reasoned order and transmit the same to the Commissioner and Secretary to the Government of Assam in the Revenue and Disaster Management Department who shall do the needful of taking the necessary steps of the disbursement of the amount of Rs. 4,00,000/ex-gratia payment to the petitioners. The Deputy Commissioner to pass the reasoned order within a period of 1(month) from the date of receipt of such application from the petitioners and the Commissioner and Secretary to the Government of Assam in the Revenue and Disaster Management Department shall, if the conclusion of the Deputy Commissioner is in favour of the petitioners, disburse the amount within a period of another 1(one) month thereafter. As none appears for the petitioners, Mr. S. Dutta and Mr. C.K.S. Baruah to take the responsibility to inform the petitioners about this order. Writ petition stands disposed of as indicated above.

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Comparing Assistant

Mukul Medhi and Anr. v. the State of Assam and 3 Ors.

Case brief

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Mukul Medhi and Anr. v. the State of Assam and 3 Ors.

Case brief

What is this about?

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What the court decided

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