Recently, the Delhi High Court ruled that members of town vending committees (TVCs) in Delhi were not frontline COVID-19 warriors.
The Delhi high court was hearing a man’s appeal seeking a direction to the Delhi government to deliver repayment of Rs 25 lakh to his family for the death of his father, a member of a town vending committee in the city, who died because of Covid-19 in May 2021. Along with this, he also pursued a direction to the government to announce members of the town vending committee as frontline COVID-19 warriors in Delhi.
The Subramonium Prasad, a single-judge bench of justice, in its 12 March order said, “ The requester’s father was a member of the town vending committee. But there is no record to specify that the father of the requester has been deployed for COVID-19 duties by the Government of NCT of Delhi. If there is no evidence to specify that the requester’s father has been posted for COVID-19 duties by the Government of NCT of Delhi, the requester is not authorized to take benefit of the decision taken by the Respondent/GNCTD vide Cabinet Decision dated 13.05.2020.
The high court further observed that issues pertaining to the allocation of benefits under a scheme are inherently matters of policy, and as such, writ courts operating under Article 226 of the Constitution of India refrain from intervening in policy decisions.
“If there is no evidence to specify that the requester’s father had been posted for Covid-19 duties by the Government of NCT of Delhi, this court is not disposed to direct that the members of the town vending committee should be confirmed as frontline Covid-19 warriors or that they are authorized to the repayment of Rs 25 lakhs.” said by justice Prasad.
The requester said that his father has been participating in the meetings of the town vending committee of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation, Civil Lines Area wherein he died because of COVID-19.
On the other side, the government said that the permit of repayment is a matter of policy and that the requester’s mother already considered under the “Mukhyamantri Covid-19 Parivar Aarthik Sahayata Yojana Scheme” and she received a one-time payment of Rs 50,000 and yet, no other claim of repayment is made out.
The Delhi high court noted that the government had endured its cabinet decision of May 13, 2020, said that if any individual, such as a doctor, nurse, paramedical staff, security/sanitation staff, or any other government officer/official, including police officer. Yet temporary or permanent employee or contractual, in the government or private sector, posted for COVID-19 duties by the Delhi government, dead by contracting the disease while on duty, his/her family shall be paid a voluntary amount of Rs 1 crore.
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