Sasmita Das Vs State of Odisha

1. The appeal has been filed challenging the order dated 2.1.2024 passed by the learned Single Judge in W.P.(C) No. 35923 of 2023 dismissing the writ petition.

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2. The writ application was filed by the appellant-petitioner.

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3. Learned counsel for the appellant was heard in extenso. Earlier the matter was heard on 19.08.2025.

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4. The appellant is aggrieved by the order passed by the learned Single Judge in Writ Petition No. 35923 of 2023. Learned Single Judge has given the following reasons for rejecting the writ petition which are reproduced from the order dated 02.01.2024 :

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“4. Learned counsel for the Petitioner further contends that after death of her husband the Petitioner had approached the Executive Engineer of the concerned department for considering her case under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package.

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5. Learned counsel for the State submits that as per the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package the health workers, who perform duties relating to the COVID-19 work, are only covered under the said package and the Petitioner is no way concerned with the said health work. He further contends that the husband of the Petitioner was also not a health worker.”

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5. Learned AGA supports the judgment passed by the learned Single Judge in writ petition. He submits that the deceased husband of the petitioner does not come within the definition of health worker. He did not perform duties relating to COVID-19 work.

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6. Considering nature of claim raised in the writ petition, we have heard the learned counsel for the appellant on merits of the claim made in the writ petition, by going into details of the annexures to the writ petition and also we have heard learned counsel for the appellant regarding his submissions on the said annexures.

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The copy of the claim application made by the applicant-petitionerappellant under the scheme Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana/Package has not been annexed to the writ petition and not before us. However, annexed to the writ petition are the documents indicating that the deceased husband of the petitioner was authorized to look after public health work of Community Health Center (CHC) and hospitals of Ganjam and Gajapati districts he then working as Assistant Engineer, General Public Health (GPH) subdivision. The certificate of death annexed to the writ petition (entire writ petition has been annexed to the writ appeal) has issue No. 8107/2020, indicates that the death was registered on 31.10.2020 Registration No.8317/2020. Death having occurred on 17.10.2020. There

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is another death certificate issued on 16.2.2022 issued by the Government Department of Health & Family Welfare in compliance of the Hon’ble Supreme Court judgment dated 30^th June, 2021 that is marked as Annexure-XIX to the writ petition wherein it is written that the COVID-19 Death Ascertaining Committee has certified that the person died due to COVID.

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7. Annexed to the writ petition is letter dated 28.1.2022 issued by the Executive Engineer GPH Division, Bhubaneswar addressed to the Collector and District Magistrate, Ganjam (marked as Annexure-XVIII). Since the said letter has bearing on the adjudication of the writ petition, it is reproduced herein :

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“OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER GPH DIVISION NO.I, BHUBANESWAR

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To Collector & District Magistrate, Ganjam.

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Sub : Submission of application for insurance claim under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package in connection with the death of S. Binod Chandra Patro Ex-A.E GPH Section Paralakhemundi.

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Ref : i) Your Letter No.765 dt 2.3.2021 and Memo No 295 /Emg. dated 25.1.2021.

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ii) letter No.903 dated 15.7.2021 of Superintending Engineer P.H Circle (R&B) Bhubaneswar.

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Sir,

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With reference to the letter and subject cited above, it is to submit herewith the application of Smt. Sasmita Das W/o late S. Binod Chandra Patro regarding insurance claim under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package in connection with the death of S. Binod Chandra Patro Ex- A.E GPH Section, Paralakhemundi along with the following observations and this correspondence made in the matter for necessary examination:

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1.) Late S. Binod Chandra Patro had performed Covid-I9 management related duties from 01.03.2020 to 31.08.2020. However, he was admitted in Sum Hospital, Bhubaneswar on 15.10.2020 and expired on 17.10.2020 due to chronic kidney disease (CKD), T2DM and B/L Pneumonia as mentioned in medical certificate of cause of death.

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2.) It is found that S. Binod Ch Patra had not been tested Covid19 positive within 30 days from his last day of active Covid-19 related duty.

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3.) Laboratory report certifying positive medical test is not submitted by the applicant.

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4.) No documentary evidence is available with this office that the loss of life of late S. Binod Chandra Patra was due to Covid-19. 5.) Death summary by the Hospital where death occurred is not submitted by the applicant.

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Therefore, it is requested to take further necessary action at your end as per guidelines issued by Health and Family Welfare Department, Govt. of Odisha vide letter No.l7l97/H. dated 20.07.2020 and an instructions may kindly be issued to this office for further compliance or action.

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This is for favour kind information and necessary action.”

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8. After the said letter was issued on 28.01.2022, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, Bhubaneswar within whose jurisdiction is the hospital where the deceased husband of the petitioner breathed his last, issued certificate subsequently on 16.2.2022.

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Assuming that the certificate dated 16.02.2022, is to be accepted, we have to examine whether the deceased husband comes within the parameter as specified in the Scheme of the Government of Odisha, Health and Family Welfare Department dated 20.07.2020 (Annexure-XXXIV) and the corrigendum dated 29.07.2020 (Annexure-XXXIII) issued in continuation of the notification dated 20.07.2020.

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Since the consideration has to be on the basis of the said official notifications relevant Paragraphs B, C, F & G of the notification dated 20.07.2020 are reproduced herein :

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“B. ELIGIBILITY

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Any person engaged in COVID-19 related work drafted by Government of Odisha or any of its agencies, who are not eligible for insurance coverage under the guidelines Issued by Government of India vide their D.O. letter No. Z-21020/16/2020- PH Dt. 30.03.2020, is eligible for such financial assistance to be given to their spouse or next of kin. It shall cover the following categories of personnel engaged in COVID19 related duties by Government of Odisha or any of its agencies Employees of State Government, Urban and Rural Local Bodies,PSUs, Autonomous Organisations, Societies under different Departments of the Government

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2. Any private person or volunteer

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3 Elected representatives

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4 Any person hired by Govemment/ its authorized agencies through a professional agency on contract / daily wage basis

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C. MANDATORY CONDITIONS OF ELIGIBILITY :

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The above category of persons will be eligible for financial assistance under these guidelines provided they fulfill the following mandatory conditions;

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1 That they are drafted by Government or by its authorized agencies to perform COVID-19 related duties/responsibilities directly

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2 The contact of COVlD-19 infection must be while in active line of duty and the worker/ employee must not be on any kind of leave from the duty.

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Provided that he/ she is tested/ detected COVID-19 positive within 14 days from his / her last day of active COVID-19 related duty (the 14 day count is from the last day of COVID-19 duty to the collection) and subsequently succumbs to COVID-19 or meets with accidental loss of life on account of COVID-19 related duty.

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F. CLAIM PROCEDURE

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In case of death as indicated above, the- Head of Office of the deceased person/ Drafting Authority shall facilitate and guide the claimant to initiate the proposal of claim under Insurance Scheme of Govt. of lndia in Form I or II, as the case may be.

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Besides, claim shall be simultaneously submitted in Form III attached to these guidelines under the Government of Odisha Scheme if the person was drafted by Government or its agencies to perform COVID-19 related duties and has succumbed to the disease after

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contacting Corona Virus infection in his/her active line of duty or meets with accidental loss of life on account of COVID-19 related duty.

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The claim in Forms I or II, as the case may be, and the Form-III shall be submitted, duly filled in and signed by the claimant, to the Medical Superintendent of the concerned Hospital where the person succumbed to COVID-19 .

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The Medical Superintendent, after certifying the appropriate portion, shall forward the forms to the Head of the: Office/ Drafting Authority of the deceased.

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The Head of the Office/ Drafting Authority, after making necessary entries, shall forward the forms to the Collector and District Magistrate of the concerned District for countersignature.

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The Collector, after his countersignature, shall transmit the form to the Competent Authority as notified by the Government in Health & Family Welfare Department.

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The Competent Authority will transmit the Form I or II, as the case may be, with required documents to the Insurance Company identified by the Government of India for approval and retain the Form-lil at its level.

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In case the claim is not approved under Government of India Scheme, the Competent Authority as notified by the Government in Health & Family Welfare Department shall process the claim under Form-III for sanction of the financial assistance of Rs.50 Lakh from Government of Odisha under these guidelines in favour of the eligible claimant and take steps for payment.

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(The Form I and II and the FAQ of Government of India along with the guidelines of Government of India and Form ill of Government of Odisha are annexed to these guidelines).

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G. Documents to be submitted along with claim form:

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The claim Form III shall accompany the following documents:

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Claim form duly filled in and signed by the nominee/claimant

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Identity proof of the deceased (PAN/ AADHAR / Institution ID card / Voter ID card) self certified by claimant

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Identity proof of the claimant (spouse/next of Kin)- self certified by claimant 4. Proof for establishment of relationship of the deceased with the claimant - self certified by claimant

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Proof for establishment of relationship of the deceased with the claimant - self certified by claimant

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Laboratory report certifying having tested positive for COVID19.- certified by claimant

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6 Death summary by the Hospital where death occurred (in case death occurred in hospital).

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7. Death Certificate (in original)

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8. Post-mortem Report

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Cancelled Cheque (desirable) (in Original)

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10. Certificate in support of engagement by the Government or its authorized agency in form attached to these guidelines”

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9. Relevant sub-para of the notification dated 29.07.2020 is extracted herein :

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"Guidelines for providing Financial Assistance to Spouse/Next of Kin of Persons who Succumb to COVID-19 while in Active Line of Duty and are not eligible for Insurance Coverage under Government of India"

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The last Paragraph of Clause-C of the of the above guidelines issued vide Notification No.17197/H dated, 20.07.2020 (copy enclosed) is hereby replaced and may be read as follows :

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"Provided that he/she is tested/detected COVID-19 positive within 30 days from his/her last day of active COVID-19 related duty (the 30 day count is from the last day of COVID-19 duty to the date of swab collection) and subsequently succumbs to COVlD-19 or meets with accidental loss of life on account of COVID-19 related duty.”

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10. On the basis of the guidelines dated 20.07.2020 and corrigendum dated 29.07.2020 we have heard learned counsel for the appellant extensively as to whether the deceased husband of the appellant satisfies the prescribed criteria. It is clear from the submissions and apparent from the available annexures those are copies of the document sought to be relied upon by the appellant, that the applicant had never produced copy of the application before this Court nor any copy is available with the learned counsel for producing during hearing of the appeal.

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11. We have noticed that the judgment under challenge did not give elaborate reasons or dealt with the contentions of the petitioner who is wife of the deceased employee claiming the benefit under Pradhan

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Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana. As the facts have not been dealt with in the impugned judgment, consciously considering the nature of grievance raised in the writ petition we have heard the matter at length and dealt with the various factual aspects in the present appeal.

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12. This Court has examined the details as indicated above as required for consideration of the claim of benefit and it is noticed that the petitioner has not stated whether the deceased husband of the petitioner was in active line of duty in COVID-19. It is also not indicated in the writ petition that the deceased employee had contact of COVID-19 infection while in active line of duty, it is not stated the deceased employee had tested positive upon being tested for COVID19 within 30 days from his/her last day of active COVID-19 related duty.

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Thereafter, regarding the claim procedure there is no mention whether the proposal of claim under insurance scheme of Govt. of India in Form-I or Form-II was submitted. It is also not mentioned whether the claim was submitted to the Govt. of Odisha in Form-III to the Medical Superintendent of the concerned hospital where the husband of the petitioner succumbed to COVID-19. It is not also stated in the writ petition if applications were submitted in Form-I or Form-II and/or Form-III, if submitted, how it was dealt with by the competent authority.

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The consideration by the State as per the scheme is only if the claim is not approved under Govt. of India scheme. This aspect has also not been made clear in the writ petition whether the petitioner had applied in Form-I and/or II to the Govt. of India and if applied what happened to those applications, particularly how they were considered by the Govt. of India.

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It is further noticed out of the requirements as specified those have been noted in paragraph-8 above i.e. “G”. The documents to be submitted along with claim form that includes ten documents. No particulars have been given in any manner whatsoever as to how many documents were in fact filed either in Form-I or Form-II or Form-III.

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13. As a result it has to be concluded that nothing is forthcoming either in the petition nor in the pleadings as to the compliance of the paragraphs B, C, F & G of notification dated 20.07.2020 as has been reproduced above.

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In absence of all these, this Court cannot form any opinion regarding claim of the appellant, much less, can direct the authorities to do anything to consider the claim of the petitioner.

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14. In view of the above discussions and the reasons stated Writ Appeal challenging the order dated 2.1.2024 passed by the learned Single Judge in W.P.(C) No. 35923 of 2023 is dismissed, the order passed by learned Single Judge is confirmed.

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No costs.

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(Manash Ranjan Pathak) Judge

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(Mruganka Sekhar Sahoo) Judge

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Orissa High Court, Cuttack

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The 11^th September, 2025/Dutta

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Signature Not Verified