JAWANARAM CHOUHAN Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present writ petition has been instituted by the petitioner under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, with a prayer for issuance of an appropriate writ, order or direction to the respondents to reimburse the medical expenses incurred by the petitioner towards the treatment of his wife, along with interest at the rate of 12% per annum from the date of incurrence of expenditure till the date of actual payment by the respondents.

(2.) Briefly stated the facts of the case are that the petitioner is serving as a Patwari under the Government of Rajasthan. His wife, Smt. Sunder Devi, had gone to Surat along with their son to assist her brother engaged in business there. During her stay, she developed a severe renal ailment and was admitted to Mahaveer General Hospital, Sangrampura, Surat in a critical condition. Upon receiving information, the petitioner reached Surat, where the attending doctors informed him that both kidneys of his wife had failed, necessitating urgent surgery and continued dialysis twice a week.

(3.) Learned counsel for the petitioner contended that the respondents' refusal to reimburse the petitioner's medical claim of Rs.2,25,000.00 incurred for the treatment of his deceased wife at Mahaveer General Hospital, Surat, is arbitrary, illegal, and contrary to the Rules of 1970. Despite the petitioner's full compliance with procedural requirements, the authorities, adopting a mechanical approach, failed to process his claim, compelling him even to furnish an undertaking to accept Rs.50,000.00, which too remains unpaid.