Death Of Odisha Constable Due To Covid: HC Orders Rs 50 Lakh & Special Family Pension For Widow

Cuttack: The Orissa High Court has directed the state police to pay an ex-gratia of Rs 50 lakh and special family pension to the widow of a constable who died of Covid-19 while on duty in 2021.

Constable Satyabadi Dehury, was posted in the human resource management system (HRMS) section at the reserve police in Angul when he died while undergoing treatment for Covid-19 infection on October 12, 2021, TOI reported.

His wife Bharati Satpathy (41), a homemaker with a minor son and a resident of Soubhagya Nagar in Angul town, filed the petition on September 6 this year after the Home department rejected her application for the grant of ex-gratia and special family pension.

Representing Bharati, advocate Niranjan Singh claimed relief in the form of ex gratia of Rs 50 lakh and special family pension under the finance department’s resolution dated Aug 4, 2020.

State counsel Deepak Kumar Sahoo contended that the petitioner is not entitled to the relief sought as her husband was never certified to be a ‘Covid warrior’ when he was working in the reserve office at Angul and deployed for Covid-19 enforcement duty.

However, the bench of Justice K R Mohapatra observed, “The petitioner’s husband was on active line of duty dealing with service records of the staff and officers of the reserve office, which was controlling the Covid management duty, and was not on leave when he was diagnosed with Covid-19. He might not have been discharging duty in the field, but dealing with service records and related works of the said staff and officers and other related works of the Covid management. The said duty made him vulnerable to Covid infection and ultimately took his life.”

“In view of the above, there cannot be any iota of doubt that the petitioner, being the widow of late Satyabadi Dehury, who died due to Covid-19 while on active line of duty, is entitled to ex gratia of Rs 50 lakh and special family pension,” Justice Mohapatra ruled on December 6.

The court directed the Angul SP and DG (Law and Order), as well as Additional Chief Secretary, Home, to take prompt steps to grant ex gratia of Rs 50 lakh, as well as special family pension to the petitioner, “as expeditiously as possible”, preferably within six months from the date of production of the order.