SULOCHANA SHARAD KULKARNI AND ORS vs THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA THR. THE SECRETARY HEALTHE DEPARTMENT AND ORS

Ingale 903-WP-11611-24.odt 4. Mr. Shriram Kulkarni, for the Respondent No.5. Smt.Pooja Patil, AGP for Respondent-State. **** CORAM : M.S.KARNIK & S.M.MODAK, JJ. DATE : 11th FEBRUARY 2026 ORAL JUDGMENT (PER M.S.KARNIK, J.) : 1. By this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioners who are the legal heirs of the late employee who died due to Corona virus, are seeking directions to respondents no.1 to 5 to release the amount of Rs. 50,00,000/- towards Covid compensation. 2. The facts of the case in brief are that late Shri Unmesh 1 Ingale 903-WP-11611-24.odt Sharad Kulkarni joined the services of Manmad Municipal Council (‘Municipal Council’, for short) as Class IV employee with effect from 29/06/1990. The Municipal Council issued a letter dated 09/01/2021 appointing late Shri Unmesh Kulkarni as force staff to tackle Covid-19 surge at Dr. Babasaheb Amebedkar Playground and Railway Institute. Late Shri Unmesh Kulkarni died in harness due to Covid-19 while serving as Class IV employee on 29/03/2021. The Chief Officer of the Municipal Council submitted a report dated 22/11/2021 to the Respondent No.3 - District Administrative Officer, Urban Development Branch,