SHANTILATA BARIK Vs. SECRETARY, HOME AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT, BHUBANESWAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Mr. Singh, learned advocate appears on behalf of petitioners and on 3/3/2022 had submitted, petitioners are entitled to compensation and employment for one of them on death of Sukura Singh, who died while on duty as a Grama Rakshi. He relied on a Division Bench judgment of this Court in Niranjan Nayak vs. State of Odisha, reported in 2007 (II) OLR 197, paragraph 6 to submit, view taken was that Grama Rakshi post was under administrative control of District Magistrate and is a civil post. He then relied on rule 1 (3) in Odisha Civil Services (Compassionate Grant) Rules, 1964 to submit, the rules apply to all State Government servants, including the work charged job-contract and contingency-paid employees other than daily-rated employees. Rule 3 provides for entitlement of the family of a Government servant to be eligible to compassionate grant. He had handed up resolution dtd. 21/6/2010, whereby Government of Odisha, Finance Department resolved, inter alia, rate of compensation in grant to be Rs.4,00,000.00 for a Government servant died while on duty. He points out that the deceased died during duty of night patrolling, in a road accident. Those were the facts.

(2.) Mr. Sharma, learned advocate, Additional Government Advocate appears on behalf of State and draws attention to paragraph 8 in the counter. He submits, there is no provision available to provide compensation to petitioners. The deceased was not serving as regular employee and, therefore, the scheme of rehabilitation assistance cannot be extended to them. He submits further, at the time of death the deceased was drawing Rs.1000.00 per month as allowance, not salary (as per annexure B/3 in the counter) i.e., below the eligibility criteria of salary to entitlement of compensation.

(3.) The question for consideration is whether the rules of 1964 apply to the deceased. In event it does, under resolution dtd. 21/6/2010, compensation of Rs.4,00,000.00 is to be paid.