In a judgment underscoring the primacy of substantive justice over administrative formalities, the Kolhapur Bench of the Bombay High Court has directed the Maharashtra government to provide ₹50 lakh in ex-gratia insurance compensation to the family of a deceased frontline worker, holding that bureaucratic rigidity must not obscure the fundamental demands of justice.
A Division Bench of Justices M. S. Karnik and Ajit B. Kadethankar delivered the verdict on a petition filed by the heirs of Yashwant Khandu Jadhav, an Extension Officer with the Karveer Panchayat Samiti, Kolhapur, who died of COVID-19 in July 2021 after contracting the virus on pandemic duty.
The Dispute. The petitioners sought benefits under a Government Resolution providing ₹50 lakh insurance cover for frontline workers who died after contracting COVID-19 — but only for deaths on or before June 30, 2021. Jadhav tested positive on June 16, 2021 and passed away on July 11, 2021, placing his case just outside the cutoff, leading the state to reject the family's claim. The state, represented by Advocate V. M. Mali, defended the cutoff as a necessary and clearly defined administrative measure.
Court's Reasoning. The Bench firmly rejected this rigid interpretation, holding that denying relief to those who died shortly after the cutoff would violate core constitutional principles of justice, fairness, and human dignity, and be antithetical to the collective societal debt owed to frontline workers. The court noted Jadhav had contracted the virus well before the deadline and remained continuously hospitalised until his death, making the cutoff an unjust absolute barrier in his case.
The Bombay High Court directed the Maharashtra government to disburse the ₹50 lakh within four weeks, holding that denying relief here would be a disservice to the sacrifice made in the nation's battle against the pandemic, and that eligibility criteria in compassionate welfare schemes should be applied flexibly and contextually rather than as rigid procedural hurdles.
