Kerala High Court Orders Reimbursement Of Expenses To Govt Employee Over Treatment Of Daughter's Rare Disease Outside State

In a recent ruling, the Kerala High Court ordered the state government to reimburse the treatment charges expended by a government school teacher for the treatment of his daughter's rare disease in a non-empanelled private hospital in Coimbatore.Justice Harisankar V. Menon relied on various decisions of the Apex Court and the judgment of the High Court in The General Manager and Anr. v. Rajam V.V., wherein the reimbursements not disbursed on technical grounds like treatment at non-empanelled hospitals were ordered to be given.The petitioner's daughter was suffering from a rare disease, which is stated to be one that progresses rapidly ad would lead to a life that would constantly require care of others if not treated at the appropriate stage.The petitioner submitted a representation before the Minister for Health and Family Welfare stating that the treatment of the disease is not available in Kerala but there at Coimbatore. He sought sanction for carrying out the treatment at the hospital in Coimbatore hoping that the charges would be reimbursed by the Government. Thereafter, the treatment was carried out while his application was forwarded to the government since the condition of the daughter was such that the treatment could be waited.Again, a representation was made, informing about the treatment being carried out since there was no facility available in Kerala. Finally, the government informed the Director of Higher Secondary Education that the petitioner's case can be taken as a special case for relaxing the KGSMA Rules (Kerala Government Servants' Medical Attendance Rules) and asked that the application for medical reimbursement can be forwarded.However, the application and his subsequent request were returned stating that reimbursement cannot be granted since the treatment was carried out at a non-empanelled private hospital.The Court took note of the fact that the petitioner's daughter was suffering from a rare disease requiring immediate attention as well as the certificate issued by the District Medical Officer that the treatment for the said disease was not available locally. It was also opined that the petitioner's case ought to have been considered sympathetically especially since such a view was expressed by the government.Considering these aspects in the light of the caselaws referred, the Court felt it appropriate to set aside the orders passed rejecting the petitioner's applications for reimbursement. “The petitioner's request for reimbursement as regards the treatment of his daughter ought to have been sympathetically considered, especially in the light of the decision taken…This is especially so when there was no facility for carrying out the treatment within the State of Kerala or at least in the Government hospitals in Kerala,” the Court remarked.It directed that the expeditious reimbursement of the amount quantified by the Director of Health Services within 6 months of receipt of the copy of the judgment.Case No: WP(C) No. 380 of 2023Case Title: XXX v. State of Kerala and Ors.Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 80Counsel for the petitioner: P. Nandakumar, Amrutha Sanjeev, Vivek VijayakumarCounsel for the respondents: Sylaja S.L. - Government PleaderClick To Read/Download Judgment

Kerala High Court Orders Reimbursement Of Expenses To Govt Employee Over Treatment Of Daughter's Rare Disease Outside State

K. Salma Jennath

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