MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court has directed the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) to pay ₹45 lakh to the widow of a traffic supervisor who died of COVID-19 while on duty during the pandemic, holding that the corporation took a “narrow view” when rejecting her claim under its ₹50 lakh relief scheme.A division bench of Justices M.S. Karnik and S.M. Modak was hearing a petition filed by Sunita Jagtap, whose husband had been deputed to the Wadala depot to supervise excess traffic during the pandemic. He died on April 7, 2021, due to COVID-pneumonia.
Jagtap had sought compensation under a Government Resolution dated May 29, 2020, later extended in 2021, along with an MSRTC circular that provided ₹50 lakh ex gratia assistance in case an employee died due to Covid while on duty.
MSRTC rejected her claim between 2022 and 2023, stating that the deceased was not assigned essential services and was neither a driver nor a conductor engaged in interstate transport. The corporation said it had already deposited ₹5 lakh in Jagtap’s bank account and argued that her husband was not eligible for the ₹50 lakh compensation.
The court rejected the corporation’s argument, observing that the deceased employee faced similar risks as drivers and conductors during the pandemic.
“The authorities have forgotten the precarious situation prevailing during the COVID period, when no one was ready to go out of house for discharging their duties,” the bench said, noting that the deceased attended work “at the risk of his life”.
The court held that the corporation cannot avoid its responsibilities by taking a restrictive interpretation of its circular and directed payment of the remaining compensation within eight weeks, failing which interest at 6% per annum would apply.