Smt. Pushpa Devi vs State Of U.P. Thru. Chief Secy. Revenue Lko. And 2 Others

AFR
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
LUCKNOW
WRIT - C No. - 5596 of 2026
Smt. Pushpa Devi
.....Petitioner(s)
Versus
State Of U.P. Thru. Chief Secy. Revenue Lko.
And 2 Others
.....Respondent(s)
Counsel for Petitioner(s) : Shobhit Singh, Ajai Kumar Singh,
Prabhat Rathore, Rifat Naaz
Counsel for Respondent(s) : C . S . C., Aprajita Bansal
Court No. - 3
HON'BLE SHEKHAR B. SARAF, J.
HON'BLE ABDHESH KUMAR CHAUDHARY, J.
1 . Heard learned counsel appearing on behalf of the parties.
2 . This is a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India,
wherein the writ petitioner has sought for the following substantial
reliefs:-
"A. Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of Certiorari to
quash an order passed by the Committee constituted vide office
order dated 06.10.2022 wherein on 10.10.2022 and 14.11.2022 the
meeting was held and the claim of the petitioner to release ex
gratia compensation of Rs. 50,00,000/- (Fifty Lakh Rupees) in
pursuance of the Government Order dated 11.04.2020 has been
rejected annexed as Annexure No. 1.
B. Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of Mandamus
commanding and directing the Respondent No. 1 to release the
payment of ex-gratia compensation of Rs. 50 lakhs as financial aid
provided in the Government order dated 11.04.2020 in favor of the
petitioner. "
3. The present petition has been filed by the widow of Late Sunder
Lal, who died due to COVID-19. Learned counsel for the petitioner
submits that the petitioner is aggrieved by the impugned order dated
06.10.2022, whereby the claim of the petitioner was rejected on the

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ground that the petitioner was held not to be covered under the
Government Order dated 11.04.2020. It is the submission of
petitioner that her husband was an employee of the Madhyanchal
Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd. (MVVNL) and he got infected with COVID-
19 disease while discharging his duties with respect to the
containment of COVID-19 disease and as such in view of the
Government Order dated 11.04.2020 and subsequent notifications
dated 22.06.2021 of the State Government the petitioner is entitled
for ex-gratia payment of Rs. 50,00,000/- (Rs. 50 Lakhs).
4. In order to buttress his arguments, learned counsel for the
petitioner relies upon Division Bench judgments of this Court dated
April 17, 2026 passed in Writ-C No. 34909 of 2023 (Smt. Pushpa
Devi Vs. State of U.P. and others) and dated April 29, 2026
passed in Writ-C No. 42989 of 2025 (Vipin Kashyap Vs. State of
U.P. and others) in which the persons who were involved in similar
activities have been declared COVID Warrior and have been
awarded the claims as raised by the petitioner in the instant petition.
5. On the other hand, learned counsel for the respondent has
supported the impugned order and submitted that the husband of the
petitioner (deceased) did not perform any duty so as to come within
the expression of "COVID roktham, upchar and bachao" i.e.
containment of COVID pandemic/COVID-19 treatment and protection
from infection of COVID.
6. Having heard learned counsel for the parties. A perusal of the
record would reveal that Chief Medical Officer Luknow vide a
certificate dated 04.08.2021 has certified the death of the husband of
the petitioner due to COVID-19 disease. It also appears that the
husband of the petitioner (deceased) was assigned duty for the
prevention and control of COVID-19 and to ensure uninterpreted
power supply to hospitals, oxygen plants, people staying at homes
and others. A certificate dated 11.08.2021 issued by the Electricity
Department, which has been annexed as Annexure No. 2, indicates
that the deceased was an employee in the electricity department and
was assigned duty for maintenance and supply of electricity for the
aforesaid purpose. The report/certificate further indicates that the
deceased was on the front-line and was engaged in ensuring an
uninterrupted electricity supply to the houses and hospitals wherein

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the COVID patients were staying and admitted. We also find that a
recommendation Letter dated 13.09.2021 was also issued in favour
of petitioner by the concerned Electricity Department (MVVNL), which
was followed by a Letter dated 16.09.2021 relating to the release of
the said ex-gratia amount in favour of the petitioner by the concerned
District Magistrate, Lucknow.
7. Further, we find that a Division Bench of this Court in Smt.
Pushpa Devi (Supra) involving similar issue of payment of ex-gratia
to the dependent of an employee of Electricity Department, who died
due to COVID-19 after considering another judgment of this Court in
Smt. Premlata Pandey Versus State of U.P. and 3 others, (Writ-C
No.17575 of 2023) decided on 29.05.2023, which was related to
compensation to a Head Constable in the Police Department, who
died due to COVID-19, noted that a myopic interpretation cannot be
given to COVID-Duty so as to confine only to those persons, who
were specially assigned to discharge their duties in treatment of
people physically in hospitals.The Division Bench went on to hold in
the said case of Smt. Pushpa Devi (Supra) that in the electricity
department, water supply department, telephone department, police
department and such other essential services departments who
worked during COVID-Period should be taken to be on COVID-
Duty as their discharge of duties helped the State Government in
containing the spread of pandemic covid-19 virus and also provided
an impetus in the treatment and protection of COVID-19 patients by
keeping them in confinement.
8. Similarly, a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in Vipin Kashyap
(Supra) when was faced with a similar issue of an employee
engaged in the Electricity Department i.e. Northern Electricity
Distribution Corporation Limited, Mathura went on to acknowledge
and hold that a Government Employee engaged in supply of essential
services particularly for smooth running of hospitals do face the
challenge of COVID 19 pandemic and as such can be included as a
Corona Warrior for grant of ex gratia compensation in event of
his/her death due to infection of COVID-19, though not directly
deployed in a hospital, upon a pragmatic reading and interpretation of
relevant Government Orders dated 20.05.2020 and 22.06.2021 as
being subordinate welfare legislation.

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9. Since the deceased was regularly engaged in ensuring an
uninterrupted supply of electricity to hospitals and oxygen plants
where COVID-19 patients were admitted and treated, he is entitled to
be treated as a COVID Warrior. Thus, we are of the considered view
that the petitioner is fully covered by the Government Order which
provides for payment of compensation to the family of a person who
contracts COVID-19 while performing duties related to the
prevention, control and management of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Accordingly, the impugned order dated 06.10.2022 is hereby
quashed and set-aside.
Normally, we would have remanded the matter to the competent
10.
authority for considering the claim of the petitioner denovo in view of
our aforesaid observation. However, we are cognizant of the time
already lapsed in releasing the ex-gratia amount as notably the
husband of the petitioner died due to COVID-19 on 23.04.2021 and
the issue had been hanging fire for more than five years. Recently,
the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Mahendra Prasad
Agarwal Vs. Arvind Kumar Singh: 2026 INSC 175 , held that if
relief deserves then it should be granted then and there and it has
further deprecated 'consider jurisprudence' of remanding the matter
back. The relevant paragraphs of the aforementioned judgment are
extracted as under :
"14. There is no doubt about the fact that the "consider
jurisprudence", so routinely adopted these days and if
we may use the expression - to throw the ball out of the
Court, is counterproductive and harms the system.
15. When a claim of a right is legal and justified, relief
must follow. The Constitutional or statutory remedies
are not intended for academic discourse. If a case
deserves relief, it must be granted then and there,
unflinchingly if need be. Balancing of equities is not to
be confused with avoiding or postponing the relief.
These are not matters of law, but of its working and
practice. Unlike law and its procedures, good practices
that evolve over a period of time are far more precious
than written laws, as it is in this practice that we see
acceptance and internalization of the spirit of law. It is
necessary to recognize, nurture and develop good

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practices which become habits. These habits come
from the shared belief, values and attitudes that breathe
vitality into rule of law. Legal culture integrates
collective beliefs, fostering habits. It is necessary and in
fact compelling to keep our remedies simple, effective
and efficient."
11. Keeping the totality of the aforesaid facts and circumstances and
for all the aforesaid reasons , the writ petition is allowed with
consequential reliefs. Accordingly, the respondents/ authority
concerned is directed to make payment of ex-gratia compensation as
per the Government Order dated 11.04.2020 to the petitioner within
a period of eight weeks from the date of production of a certified copy
of this order.
12. There shall be no order as to cost (s).
.
(Abdhesh Kumar Chaudhary,J.) (Shekhar B. Saraf,J.)

July 2 , 2026
Anuj Singh
Digitally signed by :-
ANUJ PRATAP SINGH
High Court of Judicature at Allahabad,
Lucknow Bench