MAYA DATTATRAYA SHINDE v. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA THR ITS PRINCIPAL SECRETARY AND ANR
Entitlement of MSRTC Employees to COVID-19 Ex-Gratia Compensation Based on Public-Facing Duties and Binding State Government Policy Extensions.
Court: Bombay High Court
Citation: 2026:BHC-KOL:2061-DB
Decision Date: 12-03-2026
List of Laws
Constitution of India, Article 226; Administrative Law - Ex-gratia Compensation Policies; Government Resolutions (GR) and their Binding Nature on State Corporations; Labor Law - Employee Benefits during Pandemic
- Facts: The Petitioner, Smt. Maya Dattatraya Shinde, is the widow of Dattatraya Shinde, who was employed by the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC). During the COVID-19 pandemic, the deceased served as a Traffic Controller and later as a Bus Conductor. On April 9, 2020, he used a Corporation jeep to transport employees to a COVID Center. He continued his duties until September 27, 2020, was declared COVID-19 positive on September 28, 2020, and succumbed to the virus on October 15, 2020. The State Government and MSRTC had issued policies providing ex-gratia assistance of Rs. 50,00,000 to the families of employees who died due to COVID-19 while performing frontline duties. However, MSRTC denied the Petitioner's claim on the grounds that the deceased was not carrying out COVID-19 related duties and that his death occurred after the policy's initial cut-off date of September 30, 2020.
- Procedural Posture: The Petitioner filed a Writ Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India before the High Court of Judicature at Bombay, challenging the MSRTC order dated February 15, 2021, which denied her the ex-gratia compensation.
- Issue: Whether the deceased employee, a Traffic Controller/Bus Conductor, was covered under the ex-gratia compensation policy for COVID-19 frontline workers, and whether the claim could be denied based on the technical cut-off date or the nature of his duties.
- Holding: Yes, the Petitioner is entitled to the compensation. The Court held that the deceased was performing duties that brought him into contact with the public and that the policy's benefits were extended by subsequent Government Resolutions.
- Reasoning: The Court reasoned that paragraph 3 of the MSRTC policy dated June 1, 2020, explicitly included Traffic Controllers who come into contact with passengers. Evidence from the Depot Manager confirmed the deceased was in contact with people during his duty. Regarding the timeline, the Court noted that while the initial MSRTC policy had a cut-off of September 30, 2020, the State Government (whose decisions are binding on MSRTC) extended the benefits via Government Resolutions (GRs) dated October 14, 2020, and April 25, 2022, effectively extending coverage to June 30, 2021. Furthermore, the Court interpreted the September 30 cut-off as the date by which an employee must have been infected, rather than the date of death. Since the deceased tested positive on September 28, 2020, and had worked within the 14-day window prior to hospitalization, he met all eligibility criteria.
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