The recent ruling by the Delhi High Court has determined that members of the Town Vending Committee (TVC) in the national capital do not fall under the category of frontline COVID-19 warriors.

Justice Subramonium Prasad dismissed a plea filed by a son who was seeking compensation of Rs. 25 lakh for the death of his father, a TVC member who passed away due to COVID-19 in May 2021. Additionally, the son sought a directive for the Delhi Government to recognize TVC members as frontline COVID-19 warriors in the national capital.

“In the absence of any material to show that the petitioner's father had been deployed for COVID-19 duties by the Government of NCT of Delhi, this Court is not inclined to direct that the members of the Town Vending Committee should be declared frontline COVID-19 warriors or that they are entitled to the compensation of Rs.25 lakhs,” the court said.

The Delhi government maintained that the decision regarding the provision of compensation is a matter of policy. They stated that the wife of the deceased had already been considered under the "Mukhyamantri Covid-19 Parivar Aarthik Sahayta Yojana Scheme" and had received a one-time payment of Rs. 50,000.

It was argued that no other claim for compensation was warranted in favor of the deceased's family. However, in rejecting the plea, the court emphasized that although the deceased was a member of the Town Vending Committee, there was no evidence to suggest that he had been assigned COVID-19 duties by the Delhi Government.

“In the absence of any material to show that the father of the Petitioner had been deployed for COVID-19 duties by the Government of NCT of Delhi, the Petitioner is not entitled to benefit of decision taken by the Respondent/GNCTD vide Cabinet Decision bearing No.2835 dated 13.05.2020,” the court said.

Furthermore, the court added that decisions regarding the allocation of benefits under a scheme are solely within the realm of policy-making. It emphasized that Writ Courts, under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, refrain from intervening in matters of policy.

Counsel for Petitioner: Mr. Umesh Kumar and Ms. Kawal Preet Kaur, Advocates

Counsel for Respondents: Mr. Anupam Srivastava, ASC for GNCTD with Mr. Dhairya Gupta, Advocate for R-1; Mr. Ajjay Aroraa and Mr. Kapil Dutta, Advocates for MCD

Title: UMESH KUMAR v. GOVERNMENT OF NCT OF DELHI AND ANR