'Polling Officers Infected With Covid-19 During Election Duty Be Treated At Par With Covid Warriors': Telangana High Court

The Telangana High Court has observed that polling officers who have been infected with Covid-19 during the recent municipality elections in the State must be treated at par with Covid-warriors. A Division Bench of Chief Justice Hima Kohli and Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy said that the State must ensure that such polling officers are given adequate medical treatment and all such benefits that are offered to a Covid-warrior. The direction came in a suo moto matter being heard by the Bench to address all Covid-related issues. During the hearing, Advocate Pujitha Gorantla informed the Bench that around 500 teachers, who were assigned polling duties during the municipal elections have tested Covid-positive and out of them, 15 have already succumbed to the virus. She urged that a direction may be passed for compensating the families of such teachers, as was done by the Allahabad High Court.The Allahabad High Court had observed that no one had volunteered to render services during election and the State authorities, being well aware of the threat of pandemic, forced the polling officers to go on election duty.Thus, the State must grant at least Rs. 1 crore as ex-gratia compensation to the families of polling officers who died due to COVID-19 while after the UP Panchayat polls.Allahabad High Court Says Compensation Must Be At Least ₹ One Crore For Death Of Polling Officers Due To COVID During Election DutyIt observed that the compensation of Rs. 30,00,000/- announced by the UP Government is very less.Taking not of these submissions, the Division Bench ordered, "The State is directed to take immediate steps to ensure that those who have been infected during election duty are given adequate treatment and are treated at par with Covid warriors and are given all benefits to which a Covid warrior is entitled." Advocate Pujitha also urged the Court to pass directions to the Department of Health, Medical and Family Welfare for protection of children who have been orphaned during the pandemic due to demise of both their parents. She submitted that illegal online adoptions are happening frequently and this may increase cases of human trafficking. The Court has asked the department to file an affidavit as to the manner in which such children are being rehabilitated.Significantly, the Telangana High Court had cautioned the State authorities against conducting elections in the middle of a pandemic. There is a genuine apprehension that the elections going to be conducted on April 30 will turn out to be "super spreaders" with cases exploding within a week or ten days after the elections, it had observed.'Do Lives Matter Or Elections?': Telangana High Court Asks State Election Commission Over Decision To Conduct Local Elections Amid Covid-19 Pandemic To be Updated with Order

'Polling Officers Infected With Covid-19 During Election Duty Be Treated At Par With Covid Warriors': Telangana High Court

Akshita Saxena

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