‘Covid warrior’ electricity worker died on duty in 2021, widow gets Rs 50 lakh compensation

4 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jul 7, 2026 01:28 PM IST

The bench held that employees of essential services such as electricity and police departments who worked during the pandemic can’t be denied the status of Covid warriors. (AI-generated image)

The Allahabad High Court recently directed the Uttar Pradesh government to pay Rs 50 lakh compensation to the widow of an electricity department employee who died in 2021 due to Covid-19, holding that he was a “Covid warrior” for ensuring uninterrupted power supply to hospitals during the pandemic.

A bench of Justices Shekhar B Saraf and Abdhesh Kumar Chaudhary allowed the woman’s plea and set aside a 2022 order rejecting her claim for Rs 50 lakh ex gratia for persons who succumb to Covid-19 amid pandemic-related duties under the state government’s April 11, 2020 order.

“Since the deceased was regularly engaged in ensuring an uninterrupted supply of electricity to hospitals and oxygen plants where COVID-19 patients were admitted and treated, he is entitled to be treated as a COVID Warrior,” the order dated July 2 read.

The counsel appearing for the widow said her claim was rejected on the ground that she was not covered under the state government order. It was argued that her husband, an employee of the Madhyanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd (MVVNL), got infected with Covid-19 while discharging his duties during the pandemic. Hence, he was entitled to the ex gratia payment of Rs 50 lakh.

The counsel relied on various rulings in which persons in similar situations were declared Covid warriors and were awarded their claims.

Justices Shekhar B Saraf and Abdhesh Kumar Chaudhary held that the petitioner is fully covered by the government order which provides for compensation to the family.

Opposing the plea, the state’s counsel said the petitioner’s husband did not perform any duty to come within the expression of “Covid roktham, upchar aur bachao”, i.e., containment of the Covid-19 pandemic, its treatment and protection from infection.

He was a Covid warrior: Court

The high court found that the chief medical officer had certified that the petitioner’s husband succumbed to Covid-19. Records show he was deployed to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply to hospitals, oxygen plants and households during the pandemic.

The electricity department had certified that he was a frontline worker and recommended the release of the ex gratia compensation, which the Lucknow district magistrate endorsed.

Relying on its decisions in other cases, the bench held that employees of essential services such as electricity, water supply, telephone and police departments who worked during the pandemic can’t be denied the status of Covid warriors just because they were not directly treating patients in hospitals.

Since the man was regularly engaged in ensuring an uninterrupted power supply to hospitals and oxygen plants where Covid-19 patients were admitted, he is entitled to be treated as a Covid warrior.

The petitioner is fully covered by the government order which provides for compensation to the family, the court held.

Direct relief ordered

The court granted the relief to the widow directly, noting that more than five years had elapsed since his death.

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“Normally, we would have remanded the matter to the competent authority for considering the claim of the petitioner… However, we are cognizant of the time already lapsed in releasing the ex-gratia amount as notably the husband of the petitioner died due to COVID-19 on 23.04.2021 and the issue had been hanging fire for more than five years,” it remarked.

The court then directed the state to release the Rs 50 lakh ex gratia within eight weeks.

Ashish Shaji is a Senior Sub-Editor at The Indian Express, where he specializes in legal journalism. Combining a formal education in law with years of editorial experience, Ashish provides authoritative coverage and nuanced analysis of court developments and landmark judicial decisions for a national audience.

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COVID-19 pandemic

Electricity Department

ex-gratia