HYDERABAD: Expressing concern over the State government not promptly filing counters in long-pending cases, leading to unnecessary delays and waste of court time, a division bench of the Telangana High Court on Thursday emphasised that every State should have a clear litigation policy in place.
The bench, comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice T Vinod Kumar, made these observations while hearing a petition filed by P Ashok Raj, a retired Chief Administrative Officer from the Special Judge for SC and ST POA Act 1989-cum-Additional District and Sessions Judge, RR district at LB Nagar, seeking directions to declare the inaction of the respondents in restricting his medical claim reimbursement to only Rs 1 lakh. He further requested authorities to pay the balance medical bill of about Rs 2.27 lakh.
During the hearing, the court also referred to the disparity in medical reimbursement being provided to the employees in the State. It noted that while the High Court employees are getting full medical reimbursement, there is a cap of Rs 1 lakh on reimbursement of sub-ordinate court employees. The bench observed that this limitation is inadequate in the present times, considering the rising medical costs.
This situation has reportedly been causing hardships to sub-ordinate court employees, especially when hospitals demand substantial upfront deposits even for routine treatments. The court directed the concerned authorities to provide details of employees who receive full medical bill reimbursement and instructed them to provide updates on the current case. Expressing hope that the petitioner’s claim would be settled by the next date of hearing, the court adjourned the case to on August 11.