The Bench directed the State to release the insurance amount within four weeks, “Denying relief would be to do a disservice to the sacrifice made by the deceased in his fight against COVID-19.” Representational image.
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The Kolhapur Bench of the Bombay High Court has directed the Maharashtra government to grant an ex-gratia insurance benefit of ₹50 lakh to the family of a Panchayat Samiti officer who died of COVID-19 in July 2021, holding that procedural rigidity cannot override substantive justice.
A Division Bench of Justice M. S. Karnik and Justice Ajit B. Kadethankar allowed a petition filed by Vijaya Yashwant Jadhav, Sayali Yashwant Jadhav, Sahil Yashwant Jadhav, and Tulsabai Khandu Jadhav, legal heirs of Yashwant Khandu Jadhav, who served as an Extension Officer with Karveer Panchayat Samiti, Kolhapur.
Represented by advocate K. D. Indapurkar, the petitioners sought directions to extend the benefit of the Government Resolution (GR) dated April 25, 2022, which provides ₹50 lakh insurance cover to frontline workers who died due to COVID-19, by relaxing the cut-off date of June 30, 2021.
According to the petition, Yashwant Jadhav contracted COVID-19 on June 16, 2021, while performing pandemic-related duties and was hospitalised until his death on July 11, 2021. The State had rejected the family’s claim citing the GR’s cut-off date.
Advocate V. M. Mali, appearing for the State, argued, “The GR categorically provides that the benefit of insurance cover is applicable only to those employees who died having contracted COVID-19 till 30th June 2021. Some cut-off date has to be prescribed, and there is no infirmity in prescribing the said cut-off date.”
Supporting the State’s stand, advocate Kedar P. Lad for the Zilla Parishad submitted that the proposal was rightly returned as the claim fell outside the GR’s ambit.
However, the Bench rejected this argument and observed, “To deny or restrict the relief to those who passed away after 30th June 2021 would be contrary to the values of justice, fairness, and dignity which animate our constitutional order, and also contrary to public conscience and societal gratitude.”
The Bench recalled the sacrifices made by frontline workers during the pandemic, stating, “Amidst this global turmoil, a category of individuals rose with extraordinary courage and unwavering dedication—our frontline workers. Their role was not just a professional obligation; it was an act of selfless service.”
Emphasising the need for a “humanitarian lens”, the court said, “This would be in tune with the constitutional ethos that the State must act with sensitivity towards those who have suffered and must not allow procedural rigidity to eclipse substantive justice.”
Noting that Yashwant Jadhav had contracted COVID before June 30 and was hospitalised until his death, the court held, “The cut-off date cannot be regarded as sacrosanct. This is a fit case where the benefit of GR dated 25th April 2022 ought to have been extended to the Petitioners.”
The Bench directed the State to release the insurance amount within four weeks, “Denying relief would be to do a disservice to the sacrifice made by the deceased in his fight against COVID-19.”
Published – December 20, 2025 04:42 pm IST
