Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, July 6: In a land mark judgement for the State Government employees, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court has ordered that State Government has no power under law to put an upper limit on the re-imbursement on expenditure incurred by a Government employee on her or his dependent’s medical treatment in a private hospital outside the State.
Justice Hasnain Masoodi in a case titled Mohammad Akram Khan versus State and others ordered that State Government should re-imburse an amount of Rs 38 lakh to Khan that he spent on treatment of his son, Jasarat Khan at Medanta Medicity Hospital in Gurgaon.
The State Government had agreed to pay Rs 12 lakh to Khan as medical re-imbursement for live donor liver transplant as per the rates of Institute of Liver and Billary Sciences New Delhi, SG, PGI, Lukhnow. But Khan’s counsel, Advocate Jehanghir Iqbal Ganai, argued that Government could put an upper limit on the medical reimbursement once it allows its employee to conduct treatment in a private hospital.
Advocate Gania argued that in terms of the Rule-5, Jammu and Kashmir Civil Service Rules 1990, Khan is entitled to reimbursement of expenditure incurred by him on treatment of his son along with travelling expenses from Srinagar to Gurgoan and return to Srinagar.
Petitioner’s Counsel advocated that Khan was constrained to get his son treated at Medanta Medicity Hospital as the facility was not available at SKIMS Srinagar or AIIMS New Delhi.
The Government had accorded sanction to Khan vide order No. 93-Agri of 2011 dated 17-03-2011 to get his son treated at Medanta Medicity Hospital that was not empaneled with the State Government as other hospitals were not having such facility.
The Court order says: “The State Government does not have a power under Rule 6 and 6-A to put an upper limit on the reimbursement on expenditure incurred by the Government employee on his medical treatment or that of any of his dependents in a private hospital outside the State as admissible under rules.”
“However, as long as there is no change in policy and rules are not amended, the rules occupying the field, as on date, are to be followed and rules in force, as on date, do not permit such a recourse”, the order reads.
The Court directed to allow reimbursement of expenditure incurred by the petitioner on medical treatment of his son at Medanta Medicity Hospital, Gurgaon and the connected expenditures permissible under rules of course after proper verification by the competent authority under rules.
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