Patna High Court: Bihar cannot reject ex-gratia claims over unauthorised lab tests

The core issue is whether their claims can be rejected solely because the positive tests were conducted at a laboratory not formally authorized by the State Government.

Who it concerns: Petitioners: Aneesh Singh, Geeta Devi, Madhuree Devi, Mani Bhushan Singh, Reema Kumari, Vishakhi Devi, Anant Kumar Sharma, and Krishna Murari. Respondents: The State of Bihar, Department of Health, State Health Samiti, and various District Magistrate and Medical Officers in Patna. Bench: Justice Alok Kumar of the Patna High Court.

What the court decided

• The Court directed the concerned authorities to reconsider the claims of all petitioners within four weeks of receiving a certified copy of the order.
• If the petitioners are found eligible upon reconsideration, the compensation must be paid under the Bihar Covid-19 Sahayata Yojana 2022 within four weeks of that determination.
• The Court held that the rejection of claims based solely on the laboratory's lack of authorization is unsustainable, citing the Supreme Court's guidelines in Gaurav Kumar Bansal v. Union of India and its own prior decision in C.W.J.C. No.13671 of 2023.
• The Writ petition was disposed of with these directions, and any pending interim applications were also disposed of.

Also in the document

• The Court noted that the Supreme Court's eligibility criteria for ex-gratia assistance do not list the accreditation or authorization status of the testing laboratory as a disqualifying factor.
• The Court emphasized that the petitioners are similarly situated to those in a previous case (Sushila Devi) who were granted reconsideration and compensation for the same reason, and thus entitled to parity of treatment.
• The Court stated that the State has a constitutional duty under Article 21 and the Disaster Management Act, 2005, to act as an active guardian of public welfare and cannot reject claims on mere technicalities.