Ex-gratia relief for drowning is only claimable if death is directly attributable to notified natural calamities.

The petitioner, Safiya Khatun, sought a rehabilitation grant/ex-gratia compensation of ₹4,00,000/- following the death of her two-year-old granddaughter, Afrina Begum, who died by drowning in a pond on September 3, 2024

The petitioner claimed the child died due to the "onslaught of thunderstorm and flood"

Official reports from the Circle Officer and local authorities indicated that the child fell into a roadside pond while playing and that no flood situation existed in the area at the relevant time

The petitioner’s representation to the District Commissioner for financial assistance remained unaddressed, leading to this writ petition

1. Whether the death of the petitioner’s granddaughter is attributable to a notified natural calamity under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) guidelines

2. Whether the petitioner is entitled to ex-gratia compensation of ₹4,00,000/- under the Government Notification dated 27.07.2011

The court applied the guidelines governing the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) as established by the Government of Assam, Revenue and Disaster Management Department Notification dated 27.07.2011

This policy provides that SDRF resources are restricted to providing immediate relief specifically to victims of identified natural calamities, namely: cyclone, drought, earthquake, fire, flood, tsunami, hailstorm, landslide, avalanche, cloudburst, and pest attack

Under these norms, ex-gratia payment of ₹4,00,000/- per deceased is only permissible subject to due certification by a competent authority that the cause of death was directly rooted in one of these specific calamities

The court examined the medical and police records, which confirmed the cause of death as asphyxia resulting from drowning

The court noted a critical failure to connect the drowning to a natural calamity

Relying on the report of the Circle Officer dated 11.09.2025, the court found that the incident was an "unfortunate accident" where the child fell into a pond while playing, rather than a result of flood conditions, as the area was not flood-affected at that time

The court reasoned that since the SDRF guidelines are specific and restrictive, gratuitous relief cannot be granted for accidental deaths that fall outside the scope of the listed disasters

Because the petitioner failed to provide material evidence or certification linking the death to a flood or thunderstorm, the legal requirements of the Notification dated 27.07.2011 were not met

The writ petition was dismissed as being devoid of merit

The court clarified that this dismissal does not preclude the petitioner from seeking relief under any other government policy or notification that may be applicable to accidental deaths