Would Open Floodgates: Delhi High Court Dismisses Lawyer’s Petition for Reimbursement Of Insurance Claim Under CM Advocates Welfare Scheme

The High Court was considering a petition filed by the petitioner seeking a writ of mandamus for directions against the respondents to reimburse the insurance claim towards medical expenses incurred by the petitioner on account of his ailment, asserting that he was a beneficiary of the Group Mediclaim Insurance Policy issued by the respondents.

The Single Bench of Justice Anish Dayal stated, “It may also be pertinent to note that by email dated 1st May 2021, the petitioner had sent his new voter ID Card, along with his enrolment details seeking benefits for medical expenses incurred during COVID pandemic, however, the deadline to update/modify EPIC details had expired by that time.”

“The relief sought by petitioner cannot be granted, as this would open the floodgates for many unverified registrants, particularly, 6,610 advocates, which were yet to be verified in February 2021, but were given the benefit of the Scheme by virtue of the order passed by the Single Judge”, it added.

Advocate Kanwarpal Singh represented the Petitioner while Panel Counsel Anubhav Gupta represented the Respondent.

Factual Background

A Group Mediclaim Insurance Scheme, Chief Minister Advocates Welfare Scheme (CMAWS) was approved by the respondent/Government of NCT of Delhi (GNCTD) for advocates registered with the Bar Council of Delhi (BCD) and voters of Delhi, subject to verification, on December 18, 2019. The Online registration portal for the Scheme was operational from December 28, 2020, to January 30, 2021. The Petitioner, a practising advocate, applied for the Scheme and was registered on the CMAWS portal after submitting his Election Photo Identity Card (EPIC) number and enrolment details. The letter was sent to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) by the respondent/GNCTD seeking EPIC verification of the applicants. The EPIC verification report was sent by CEO, Delhi; the petitioner’s EPIC number was not verified. Other aggrieved advocates sought the reopening of the registration for the Scheme.

The Court had directed the respondent GNCTD to purchase insurance policies from Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) for 28,744 members and from the respondent/New India Assurance Company (NIAC) for 29,077 advocates who had applied for the Scheme and were members of BCD whose names stood verified. The online portal was reopened for updation/correction, and the petitioner updated his EPIC Details, which were not verified. Later on, the insurance policy was extended to 24,033 advocates whose names had been verified. The insurance policy was not extended for the remaining 5,044 advocates, including the petitioner, whose details had not been verified. A fresh registration window had opened for advocates whose names were not included in the beneficiary list, in which the petitioner did not apply afresh. The Petitioner was diagnosed with prostate cancer on August 5, 2022 and vide a letter dated August 16, 2022, his insurance claim was rejected by the respondent/NIAC on the ground that his Voter ID Card details were not updated in the records. Aggrieved by this, the petitioner approached the High Court.

Reasoning

On a perusal of the facts of the case, the Bench noted that though the petitioner was registered, his EPIC verification was not done, however, he received the benefit of validity in the window of February 12, 2021 when the order was passed by the Single Judge including all those who were yet to be verified, till September 21, 2021 when the Division Bench stayed the final order passed on July 12, 2021. The Bench also noted that pursuant to the grant of stay, the position reverted to the original situation where only those advocates whose names/details had been verified, i.e. 24,033 advocates, would have been eligible. The E-card issued to him, was valid from December 10, 2021, to December 9, 2022, it noted.

The Bench found that the order dated July 21, 2021, was stayed in its operation, implementation and execution, and therefore, any benefit received by the petitioner by virtue of the order of the Single Judge could not have extended beyond September 21, 2021. “It is undeniable that the petitioner was not a part of the verified list of beneficiaries, during the period from 21st July 2021 till 2023, when his verification was completed under the fresh application. This being so, the Court cannot issue a mandamus on the respondents to reimburse the insurance claim made in 2022 for his ailment, as a beneficiary, when he was clearly not a part of the list of verified beneficiaries”, it added.

The Bench also referred to the notice dated February 7, 2022, which mentioned that only those who were registered and in the final list of beneficiaries need not apply afresh. Considering that the notice was present in the public domain and there was no assertion made by counsel for the petitioner that he was ignorant of the same, the Bench held that the petitioner chose to rely on the previous benefit availed by him, and this conscious avoidance of the notice was only to his own peril.

Thus, in light of such facts and circumstances, the Bench dismissed the Petition.

Cause Title: Prithipal Singh v. Government of NCT of Delhi (Neutral Citation: 2026:DHC:4550)

Appearance

Appellant: Advocates Kanwarpal Singh, Sudhir, Deepak, Shweta Gupta

Respondent: Panel Counsel (Civil) Anubhav Gupta, Advocates Siddharth Arora,T Singhdev, Vedant Sood, J.P.N. Shahi

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