Prithipal Singh vs Government Of Nct Of Delhi Through Its Ssecretary And Anr.
- Court
- Delhi High Court
* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
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% Reserved on: 28 April 2026
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Pronounced on: 21 May 2026
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Uploaded on: 22 May 2026
+ W.P.(C) 4/2023, CM APPL. 35268/2025 CM APPL. 78585/2025
PRITHIPAL SINGH .....Petitioner
Through: Mr. Kanwarpal Singh, Mr. Sudhir,
Mr. Deepak & MS, Shweta Gupta,
Advs.
versus
GOVERNMENT OF NCT OF DELHI THROUGH ITS
SECRETARY AND ANR. .....Respondents
Through: Mr. Anubhav Gupta, Panel Counsel
(Civil), GNCTD with Mr. Siddharth
Arora, Adv. Mr. T Singhdev,
Mr. Vedant Sood, Advs. for BCD.
Mr. J.P.N. Shahi, Adv. for Insurance
Company.
CORAM:
HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE ANISH DAYAL
JUDGMENT
ANISH DAYAL, J.
1. This petition has been filed seeking a writ of mandamus for directions
against the respondents to reimburse the insurance claim towards medical
expenses incurred by the petitioner on account of his ailment, contending that
he was a beneficiary of the Group Mediclaim Insurance Policy issued by
respondents.
Signature Not Verified
Digitally Signed
By:MANISH KUMAR
Signing Date:22.05.2026
13:05:45
W.P. (C) 4/2023 Page 1 of 16
Factual Matrix
2. A Group Mediclaim Insurance Scheme being, Chief Minister Advocates
Welfare Scheme (‘ CMAWS ’) (hereinafter, ‘ the Scheme ’) was approved by
respondent no.1/Government of NCT of Delhi (‘ GNCTD ’) for advocates
registered with the Bar Council of Delhi (‘ BCD ’) and voters of Delhi, subject
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to verification, on 18 December 2019. Online registration portal for the
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Scheme was operational from 28 December 2020 to 30 January 2021.
3. Petitioner, a practicing advocate, applied for the Scheme and was
registered on the CMAWS portal after submitting his Election Photo Identity
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Card (‘ EPIC ’) number and enrolment details. Letter dated 1 June 2020 was
sent to the Chief Electoral Officer (‘ CEO ’) by respondent no.1/GNCTD
seeking EPIC verification of the applicants. EPIC verification report was sent
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by CEO, Delhi on 10 June 2020, wherein, the petitioner’s EPIC number was
not verified.
4. Govind Swaroop Chaturvedi v. State of NCT of Delhi & Ors. , W.P.(C)
No. 3298/2020 and other connected matters were filed before this Court by
advocates who had applied for the Scheme, but did not receive the benefits of
the insurance policy, along with members of BCD who did not have a voter
ID of Delhi and sought for extension of benefits to them, and advocates who
registered with the BCD after the deadline sought reopening of the
registration for the Scheme.
5. Effectively, the relief sought by the petitioners was summarized by the
Court as under:
“I. Issuance of insurance policies to all eligible advocates
already registered under the Scheme;
II. Quashing of the condition requiring advocates to have a
voter ID card of Delhi for obtaining the insurance policies
under the Scheme. In effect, therefore, what is sought is the
extension of the Scheme to lawyers residing outside Delhi, in
Signature Not Verified
Digitally Signed
By:MANISH KUMAR
Signing Date:22.05.2026
13:05:45
W.P. (C) 4/2023 Page 2 of 16
the NCR region/neighbouring areas, so long as they are
registered with the Bar Council of Delhi.
III. Reopening of the registration portal to enable advocates
who have been unable to register as yet, to put in their
registrations”
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6. Vide order dated 7 October 2020, this Court in W.P.(C) No. 3298/2020
issued a direction to respondent no.1/GNCTD to purchase insurance policies
from Life Insurance Corporation (‘ LIC ’) for 28,744 members and from
respondent no.2/New India Assurance Company (‘ NIAC ’) for 29,077
advocates who had applied for the Scheme and were members of BCD whose
names have stood verified. Pursuant to this a provisional list containing
names of 29,077 advocates was provided to respondent no.2/NIAC for
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issuance of Group Mediclaim Insurance Policy, which was valid from 10
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December 2020 to 9 December 2021. Pursuant to this, the online portal was
reopened for updation/correction and petitioner updated his EPIC Details,
which were not verified.
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7. Vide order dated 12 February 2021, this Court in W.P.(C) No.
3298/2020 , directed issuance of e-cards to all 29,077 advocates. It was noted
that 22,467 advocates had been verified by GNCTD and BCD, however,
6,610 advocates were yet to be verified. Regardless of the verification, a
direction was given to include these 6,610 advocates and issue e-cards,
without awaiting completion of the verification process. Thereafter, a
verified list of 24,033 advocates was sent to respondent no.2/NIAC after
EPIC verification. Petitioner was not included in this list, since his EPIC
details remained unverified.
8. W.P.(C) No. 3298/2020 was allowed by this Court vide judgment dated
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12 July 2021 and the Scheme was held to be applicable for all advocates in
Delhi. Relevant directions of the Court are extracted as under:
Signature Not Verified
Digitally Signed
By:MANISH KUMAR
Signing Date:22.05.2026
13:05:45
W.P. (C) 4/2023 Page 3 of 16
“124. In view of the above discussion, the following are the
conclusions and directions:
a. The Chief Minister’s Advocates Welfare Scheme
(`Scheme’) announced by the GNCTD is a Scheme that
has a laudable objective of recognising the role of
lawyers in protecting the rights of citizens and their
constructive role in society. It is also in recognition of
the role played by advocates and their contribution to
the legal profession. The Scheme has, with this objective
already enabled insurances for thousands of advocates
in Delhi and has provided relief and succour to them
especially during the pandemic. However, the condition
in the Scheme that it would be applicable only to
residents in Delhi with Voter IDs, is held to be
discriminatory and arbitrary as the subclassification
from amongst the advocates enrolled with the Bar
Council of Delhi, has no rational nexus with the object
to be achieved. Accordingly, the Scheme shall be
extended to all advocates registered with the Bar
Council of Delhi, whose names and credentials are
verified, without insistence of Voter ID showing
residence in Delhi;
b. For the current year’s policies, all advocates who had
registered themselves and are eligible for the benefits
under the Scheme shall be extended the benefits. The
GNCTD has already spent approximately Rs.40 crores
to enable advocates to avail of the insurance policies.
Out of the total number of advocates for whom policies
have already procured, there are 5,044 advocates from
the NCR region/neighbouring areas within the verified
list of advocates for whom premium has already been
paid. They shall enjoy the benefits of the Scheme. All
such further eligible advocates, who had registered
within the deadlines prescribed, as per this judgement,
who have been left out shall now be included and the
policies/coverage, on the same terms, for the remainder
period of the current year, shall be procured from the
LIC and NIACL by 31st July 2021. Only the pro-rata
premium would be liable to be paid by the GNCTD to
Signature Not Verified
Digitally Signed
By:MANISH KUMAR
Signing Date:22.05.2026
13:05:45
W.P. (C) 4/2023 Page 4 of 16
the insurance companies, which the insurance
companies had agreed to, during the course of hearing.
c. Insofar as the future years are concerned, since the
pool of advocates has been increased, the total premium
for life and Mediclaim insurance, may be more than the
budget outlay of Rs.50 crores. The GNCTD cannot be
made to solely bear the burden of providing the
insurance premium, though it is urged that the outlay
may be increased depending upon the requirements,
taking inflationary trends etc., into consideration. The
BCD which has been unable to provide for group
insurance for advocates, ought to complement the
efforts of the GNCTD which has clearly taken the
position that the issue is not being treated in an
adversarial manner. Thus, the deficit on a year-to year
basis, beyond the budgeted amount of the GNCTD, shall
be funded by the BCD.
d. For the said purpose, the BCD may source the funds
in the following manner. It is -
• Free to utilize its own funds, including the funds
collected under the Advocates’ Welfare Act, 2001.
• Free to seek any voluntary contribution from Senior
advocates and other financially well-off advocates, who
may be willing to contribute for the betterment of the
legal community.
• The BCD may, if the need so arises, collect some part
of the premium from the advocates who are
beneficiaries of the Scheme.”
(emphasis added)
9. However, operation, implementation and execution of the decision of the
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Single Judge was stayed vide order dated 21 September 2021 by Division
Bench of this Court in LPA No. 338/2021 .
10. After the grant of stay, the insurance policy was extended to 24,033
advocates whose names had been verified and forwarded to respondent
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no.2/NIAC on 30 March 2021. Insurance policy was not extended for the
Signature Not Verified
Digitally Signed
By:MANISH KUMAR
Signing Date:22.05.2026
13:05:45
W.P. (C) 4/2023 Page 5 of 16
remaining 5,044 advocates, including the petitioner, whose details had not
been verified.
11. A fresh registration window had opened for advocates whose names were
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not included in the beneficiary list from 8 February 2022 to 24 February
2022, in which petitioner did not apply afresh.
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12. Petitioner was diagnosed with prostate cancer on 5 August 2022 and
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vide letter dated 16 August 2022, his insurance claim was rejected by
respondent no.2/NIAC on the ground that his Voter ID Card details were not
updated in the records.
13. Aggrieved by this, petitioner has filed the present writ petition.
Submissions on behalf of Petitioner
14. Mr. Kanwarpal Singh , counsel appears on behalf of petitioner, and
contends that he was a beneficiary under CMAWS, which was initially
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afforded to the petitioner from 10 December 2020 to 9 December 2021 and
he continued to be a beneficiary of the Scheme, when it was extended in 2022
on the pretext that his name formed part of the final list of beneficiaries who
were registered in the year 2020. In support of this, he has placed reliance on
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Notice dated 7 February 2022, issued by Department of Law, Justice and
Legislative Affairs, GNCTD, which is extracted as under for ease of reference:
“All the practicing advocates who are enrolled with Bar
Council of Delhi and also in the voters' list of GNCT of Delhi
are hereby informed that the process of fresh registrations
under Chief Minister Advocates' Welfare Scheme for availing
benefits of Group (Term) Life Insurance providing life cover
of Rs. 10,00,000 /- (Rupees Ten Lakh only) and Group Medi-
Claim Insurance coverage for Advocates and his/her spouse
and two dependent children up to the age of 25 years, for a
family floater sum insured of Rs. 5,00,000 /-(Rupees Five
Lakh) will be commenced w.e.f 08.02.2022.
Signature Not Verified
Digitally Signed
By:MANISH KUMAR
Signing Date:22.05.2026
13:05:45
W.P. (C) 4/2023 Page 6 of 16
All interested and eligible advocates may get themselves
registered under this scheme at the website
www.cmaws.delhi.gov.in w.e.f. 12:00 A.M. on 08.02.2022 till
11:59 P.M. of 17.02.2022.
The advocates who have already registered under this
scheme and whose names are mentioned in the final list of
beneficiaries registered in the year 2020 need not to apply
afresh. The final list of beneficiaries of Group (Term) Life
Insurance and Group Medi-Claim Insurance are available
on the website www.cmaws.delhi.gov.in . The already
registered advocates under this scheme are requested to
verify their credentials from the list. In case of any
discrepancy/want of modification, the same may be
corrected/updated by logging into the said web portal.
Further, in order to avoid payment of double premium, only
in case of Group Medi-Claim Insurance, all the registered
advocates are requested to update this department about the
cases where husband and wife both are living together and
both have been registered/availing the benefit of Group
Medi-Claim Insurance. In any such case, only one of them
has to login into the above said web portal and furnish the
requisite information. However, if any such case is found by
this department after last date of registration, the name of
one of the beneficiaries (either husband or wife) of Group
Medi-Claim Insurance will be deleted without any notice to
the concerned advocate.
Please note that mere registration under this scheme does
not confer the benefit of this scheme to the advocate unless
his Enrolment Number and EPIC Number are verified by
Bar Council of Delhi and NVSP portal or ECI or The Chief
Electoral Officer, GNCT or Delhi respectively.
The decision of Department of Law, Justice & LA would be
final. ”
(emphasis added)
Signature Not Verified
Digitally Signed
By:MANISH KUMAR
Signing Date:22.05.2026
13:05:45
W.P. (C) 4/2023 Page 7 of 16
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15. Counsel for petitioner, has also relied upon letter dated 1 June 2020
issued by Department of Law, Justice and Legislative Affairs, GNCTD to
Chief Electoral Officer, GNCTD in order to substantiate that no specification
as to the requirement of old Voter ID Card or new Voter ID Card was
mentioned in the said letter, which records that the enrolment of applicants has
been verified by the BCD and the verified data was forwarded to the Chief
Electoral Officer, GNCTD.
16. Previously in 2021, the petitioner had contracted Coronavirus and was
admitted in Jaipur Golden Hospital for treatment. Initially, his insurance claim
had been denied and he was informed by BCD that the Voter ID Card
submitted by him was an older one and not the one issued during the tenure of
the State Government at that time. After emailing his new Voter ID Card, he
received reimbursement towards the medical expenses through National
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Electronic Funds Transfer (‘ NEFT ’) on 26 November 2021. Moreover, in
December 2021, petitioner had undergone a cataract surgery at Goel Eye
Institute, Patel Nagar, where cashless payments were made. These payments
had also been approved by respondents.
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17. Pursuant to the notice dated 7 February 2022, fresh registrations w.e.f.
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8 February 2022 for availing benefits of Group Term Life Insurance were
reopened, however, petitioner did not register for this term of the Scheme.
18. After contracting prostate cancer, petitioner applied for reimbursement
from respondents under the Scheme for expenses incurred by him during the
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period from 29 July 2022 to 19 November 2022. However, his request was
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denied vide email dated 16 August 2022 stating that, “ this member is not
covered in the renewal database .”
19. Counsel for petitioner, therefore, submits that benefits of the Scheme
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have been arbitrarily denied, since the notice dated 7 February 2022
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Signing Date:22.05.2026
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W.P. (C) 4/2023 Page 8 of 16
unequivocally stated that registered advocates need not apply afresh and
further, petitioner had been included in the Scheme and was issued an E-Card
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by the respondents for the period 10 December 2020 to 9 December 2021,
therefore, was entitled to get reimbursement for expenses incurred by him in
2022. A copy of the E-Card issued to petitioner is extracted as under:
Submissions on behalf of Respondents
20. Mr. Anubhav Gupta , counsel appears on behalf of respondent
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no.1/GNCTD and states that this Court vide order dated 12 February 2021 in
W.P. (C) 3298/2020 had directed issuance of E-Cards to all 29,077 advocates
who had registered on the portal, irrespective of the stage of verification
process. A direction to the effect that verification process shall continue was
also given. Out of this, 24,033 advocates formed part of the verified list after
verification of their EPIC details and 5,044 advocates did not form of the
verified list, since their Voter ID Cards had not been verified.
21. Petitioner applied on the portal with the incorrect Voter ID Card, due to
which his EPIC verification could not be facilitated, as a result of which, his
Signature Not Verified
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By:MANISH KUMAR
Signing Date:22.05.2026
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W.P. (C) 4/2023 Page 9 of 16
name did not form a part of the final verified list of advocates which was
exchanged between the respondents.
22. To buttress his submission, counsel for respondent no.1/GNCTD, relies
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upon Notice dated 7 February 2022, which categorically mentions that only
the advocates whose names form a part of the final list of beneficiaries need
not apply afresh. This list was available on the portal and an option to
correct/modify details had also been provided; however, the petitioner did not
avail them. Even otherwise, the Notice stated that, “ mere registration under
this Scheme does not confer the benefit of this Scheme to the advocate unless
his Enrolment Number and EPIC Number are verified by Bar Council or Delhi
and NVSP portal or ECI or O/o The Chief Electoral Officer, GNCT of Delhi
respectively .”
23. Placing reliance on this, counsel for respondent no.1/GNCTD, states that
the petitioner was not entitled to benefits of the Scheme in 2022 when he had
not registered for the Scheme afresh and his name did not form a part of the
final list of verified advocates who received renewal benefits.
24. Counsel for respondent no.1/GNCTD, submits that another fresh notice
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was issued on 14 March 2023 w.e.f. 16 March 2023, where fresh
applications were invited. It was clarified that the advocates who were earlier
registered were required to register afresh under the Scheme. As per counsel
for respondent no.1/GNCTD, petitioner applied afresh for the Scheme with the
new Voter ID Card and after verification of his EPIC details, the benefits of
the Scheme were extended to him. Therefore, the petitioner was only eligible
for benefits after his EPIC verification had been completed.
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25. In the affidavit filed on behalf of respondent no.1/GNCTD on 16 May
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2025, it has been stated that by way of order dated 23 March 2021, this Court
in W.P. (C) 3298/2020 , had directed that pending verification of advocates
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should be completed on or before 2 April 2021 and after the verification is
complete, if any adjustment of accounts or additional payments are to be made,
appropriate orders shall be passed.
26. Therefore, the benefit rendered to the petitioner by way of the decision
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dated 12 July 2021 in W.P. (C) 3298/2020 , shall not continue after the
judgment was stayed by Division Bench of this Court in LPA No. 338/2021.
27. Mr. J.P.N. Shahi , counsel appearing on behalf of respondent no.2/NIAC,
submits their role was only limited to their capacity as an implementing agency
under the Group Mediclaim Policy.
28. Further, no specific or independent relief has been sought against
respondent no.2/NIAC and the prayer clause is generic in its direction against
all respondents.
Analysis
29. Grievance put forth by the petitioner revolves around the rejection of his
request for reimbursement of medical expenses incurred during the period
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from 29 July 2022 to 19 November 2022. The claim made by petitioner for
reimbursement was basis his understanding that he was a beneficiary of the
insurance policy issued pursuant to CMAWS. His claim for reimbursement
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was rejected vide letter 16 August 2022 on the basis that petitioner was not
covered in the renewal database.
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30. Counsel for petitioner placed reliance upon notice dated 7 February
2022 issued by Department of Law and Justice and Legislative Affairs,
GNCTD, extracted in paragraph 14 above, which states that registered
advocates whose names were already mentioned in the final list of
beneficiaries registered in the year 2020 need not apply afresh. The final list
was stated to be available on the web portal, www.cmaws.delhi.gov.in and the
Signature Not Verified
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By:MANISH KUMAR
Signing Date:22.05.2026
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W.P. (C) 4/2023 Page 11 of 16
registered advocates were requested to verify the credentials and were given
an option to correct or update by logging into the said web portal.
31. Counsel for petitioner, claims that the Scheme had been operational from
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28 December 2020 onwards and he had applied for the Scheme and was
registered on the CMAWS portal after submitting his EPIC and BCD
enrolment details. His EPIC number could not be verified basis the report
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dated 10 June 2020 prepared by the Chief Electoral Officer, Delhi.
32. A number of connected matters were filed relating to the Scheme by
advocates in W.P. (C) 3298/2020 , as mentioned in paragraphs 4 & 5 above.
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33. On 7 October 2020, a Coordinate Bench of this Court passed an order
directing respondent no.1/GNCTD to purchase insurance policies. Further by
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order dated 12 February 2021, the Court ordered issuance of e-cards to all
29,077 advocates, despite pending verification of 6,610 advocates having not
been done. As per respondent no.1, EPIC verification of petitioner still
remained unverified and he was not part of the verified list. Further by
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judgment dated 12 July 2021, the Scheme was held to be applicable for all
advocates in Delhi and all eligible advocates who have registered within the
deadlines were to be extended benefits.
34. Operation of this order was stayed by Division Bench of this Court in
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LPA 338/2021 by order dated 21 September 2021. Pursuant to the grant of
stay, the insurance policy was extended to 24,033 advocates whose names
have been verified and was not extended to the remaining 5,044 advocates. A
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fresh registration window had opened from 8 February 2022 in which the
petitioner did not apply.
35. It is quite clear that though, the petitioner was registered, his EPIC
verification was not done, however, he received the benefit of validity in the
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window of 12 February 2021 when the order was passed by the Single Judge,
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including all those who were yet to be verified, till 21 September 2021 when
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the Division Bench stayed the final order passed on 12 July 2021. Pursuant
to the grant of stay, the position reverted back to the original situation where
only those advocates whose names/details had been verified, i.e. 24,033
advocates would have been eligible. The E-card issued to him, extracted in
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paragraph 19 above, was valid from 10 December 2021 to 9 December
2021. It was during this period that he received reimbursement towards
medical expenses incurred for his treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic
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on 26 November 2021 and for his cataract surgery in December 2021.
36. Therefore, counsel for petitioner, claims that the petitioner was under the
impression that he was still covered as part of the list of beneficiaries and
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therefore, did not register afresh pursuant to notice dated 7 February 2022,
which allowed fresh registrations. The beneficiaries’ list was available on the
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online portal as notified in the notice dated 7 February 2022 and the option
to correct the details had been given, but the petitioner did not avail that. More
importantly, the notice also stated that, ‘ mere registration does not confer the
benefit unless the enrolment number and EPIC number are verified ’.
37. The submission made by counsel for respondent no.1/GNCTD, that he
did not form a part of the final list of verified advocates on the date when he
presented his claim in July 2022, cannot be displaced. Petitioner ultimately
applied afresh for the Scheme with a new voter ID card, pursuant to notice
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dated 14 March 2023 and after verification, benefits of the Scheme were
extended to him and he therefore, became eligible for the same.
38. It is quite clear that the final verification of his EPIC details only took
place after March 2023 on a fresh application. Despite lack of verification,
petitioner became part of the list of beneficiaries in the previous registration
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only due to the order passed by Single Judge on 12 February 2021 and
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confirmed on 21 July 2021 in W.P.(C) 3298/2020 , since he received benefits
of the Scheme for his treatment during COVID pandemic, as well as, for his
eye cataract surgery.
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39. The Court cannot be oblivious to the fact that the order dated 21 July
2021 was stayed in its operation, implementation and execution and therefore,
any benefit received by the petitioner by virtue of the order of Single Judge
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could not extend beyond 21 September 2021. It is undeniable that the
petitioner was not a part of the verified list of beneficiaries, during the period
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from 21 July 2021 till 2023, when his verification was completed under the
fresh application. This being so, the Court cannot issue a mandamus on the
respondents to reimburse the insurance claim made in 2022 for his ailment, as
a beneficiary, when he was clearly not a part of the list of verified
beneficiaries.
40. The legitimate expectation, as claimed by the petitioner, pursuant to the
previous benefit granted to him, cannot come to his aid for the reason that he
is an advocate himself and would have been completely aware of the fate of
the benefit received under the order passed by Single Judge, later stayed by
the Division Bench of this Court. Moreover, being a part of the community to
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advocates and noticing the scheme and notice dated 7 February 2022,
petitioner cannot ignore the clear and categorical language of the notice, which
mentions that only those who were registered and in the final list of
beneficiaries need not apply afresh.
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41. It may also be pertinent to note that by email dated 1 May 2021, the
petitioner had sent his new voter ID Card, along with his enrolment details
seeking benefits for medical expenses incurred during COVID pandemic,
however, the deadline to update/modify EPIC details had expired by that time.
The notice issued by Department of Law, Justice and Legislative Affairs,
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W.P. (C) 4/2023 Page 14 of 16
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GNCTD for updating/modifying details w.e.f. 28 December 2020 to 10
January 2021 is extracted as under:
“ Attention of all the advocates registered under Chief
Minister Advocates Welfare Scheme is invited towards the
requirement of updation/correction/verification in the
particulars filled during registration under the scheme for
availing the benefits of Group (Term) Life Insurance and
Group Mediclaim Insurance. For this limited purpose,
Online Module of this scheme has been opened.
This updation/correction/verification of particulars is
mandatory for all the registered beneficiaries for the
issuance of e-cards and physical plastic cards and for
providing intimation of insurance coverage through e-mail
by Health India Insurance, TPA appointed on behalf of
New India Assurance Co. Ltd to service the Mediclaim
policy.
All those advocates who had registered themselves under
Chief Minister Advocates Welfare Scheme but their names
are not reflected in the list of beneficiaries available on the
website of this department are also required to
update/correct/verify their particulars on the above
mentioned online module so that the benefit of the scheme
may also be provided to them.
The link of Online Module is available on the website of this
department at www.law.delhigovt.nic.in The link will remain
functional w.e.f. 28.12.2020 to 10.01.2021.
In this regard, detailed circular dated 24.12.2020 is, also
available on the website of this department.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS MODULE IS NOT MEANT FOR
NEW REGISTRATION.”
(emphasis added)
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Signing Date:22.05.2026
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W.P. (C) 4/2023 Page 15 of 16
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42. Therefore, petitioner’s failure to respond to notice dated 7 February
2022, either by making a fresh application or by correcting/modifying his
EPIC details when the deadline was provided, clearly demonstrates that the
petitioner was conscious of having missed out on seeking reimbursement of
his claim. This is further evident when he eventually submitted a fresh
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application with a new Voter ID Card, pursuant to notice dated 14 March
2023.
43. The notice was present in the public domain and there is no assertion
made by counsel for petitioner, that he was ignorant of the same. Petitioner
chose to rely on previous benefit availed by him and his E-card. The conscious
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avoidance of the notice dated 7 February 2022, was only to his own peril.
44. The relief sought by petitioner cannot be granted, as this would open the
floodgates for many unverified registrants, particularly, 6,610 advocates,
which were yet to be verified in February 2021, but were given the benefit of
the Scheme by virtue of the order passed by the Single Judge.
45. In view of the above observations, petition is accordingly dismissed.
46. Pending applications are rendered infructuous.
47. Judgment be uploaded on the website of this Court.
(ANISH DAYAL)
JUDGE
MAY 21, 2026/sm/ sp
Signature Not Verified
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By:MANISH KUMAR
Signing Date:22.05.2026
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