Widow of constable who died of Covid-19 to get ex gratia of Rs 50 lakh and special family pension: Orissa HC

Cuttack: Orissa High Court has ordered the state police to pay an ex gratia of Rs 50 lakh and special family pension to the widow of a constable who died of Covid-19 while on “active line of duty” within six months from the date of production of the order.

The court has ordered the directed the Angul SP and DG (law and order), as well as additional chief secretary, home, to take prompt steps in this case.

Constable Satyabadi Dehury died due to COVID-19 while on duty in 2021. He was posted in the human resource management system (HRMS) section at the reserve police in Angul when he died of COVID-19 while undergoing treatment for Covid-19 infection on Oct 12, 2021.

Justice Krushna Chandra Mohapatra led bench had ruled on December 6 that Bharati Satpathy, the widow of late Satyabadi Dehury, who died due to Covid-19 while on active line of duty, is entitled to ex gratia of Rs 50 lakh and special family pension.

Bharati (41), a homemaker with a minor son and a resident of Soubhagya Nagar in Angul town, filed the petition on Sept 6 this year after the home department rejected her application for the grant of ex gratia and special family pension.

Advocate Niranjan Singh, representing Bharati, claimed relief in the form of ex gratia of Rs 50 lakh and special family pension under the finance department’s resolution dated Aug 4, 2020.

According to the state government’s announcement on August 4, 2020, he died as a Covid warrior. Therefore, the court asked to give ex-gratia of Rs 50 lakh and special pension to the wife of the deceased constable.