Bihar High Court orders reconsideration of COVID death aid claims rejected because tests were conducted outside the state

The petitioners sought ex-gratia assistance for the deaths of their husbands during the 2021 Covid-19 pandemic.

The deceased had tested Covid-19 positive and died within thirty days of diagnosis; the claims were supported by test reports and other certificates and had been recommended by the District Level Committee.

The State-level authority rejected the claims because the Covid-19 tests had been conducted outside Bihar.

The petitioners challenged the rejection letters dated 27 February 2023, relying also on an earlier High Court decision concerning similarly situated claimants.

Whether claims for Covid-19 ex-gratia assistance could be rejected solely because the deceased’s Covid-19 test was conducted outside Bihar.

Whether the petitioners were entitled to reconsideration and, if found eligible, payment of assistance in view of the applicable eligibility criteria and the treatment of similarly situated claimants.

Section 12(iii) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 provides the basis for ex-gratia assistance for disaster-related deaths, as applied to Covid-19 deaths under the relevant guidelines.

Relying on Gaurav Kumar Bansal v. Union of India & Anr., M.A. No. 1120 of 2021 in W.P. (C) No. 539 of 2021, the Court stated that a Covid-19 death qualifies where, among other criteria, the deceased tested positive or was clinically determined to be a Covid-19 case and died within thirty days, whether inside or outside a hospital.

The Court also relied on Article 21 and the principle that genuine claims satisfying the prescribed criteria should not be rejected merely because testing occurred outside the State.

The Court also relied on parity with the similarly situated claimants in C.W.J.C. No. 10030 of 2023.

The petitioners’ claims were supported by Covid-19 test reports and death-related documentation, and the deceased had died within thirty days of testing positive.

The District Level Committee had recommended the claims; the State-level rejection rested solely on the location of the testing laboratories.

Because that ground was not among the eligibility criteria identified in Gaurav Kumar Bansal and was materially the same ground rejected in the earlier similar case, the Court found the decisions unsustainable and held that the petitioners were entitled to parity of treatment.

If found eligible, the petitioners were to receive compensation under the Bihar Covid-19 Sahayata Yojana 2022, together with any consequential ex-gratia benefits, within a further four weeks.

The writ petition was disposed of accordingly.