IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) WEDNESDAY, THE THIRTEENTH DAY OF OCTOBER TWO THOUSAND AND FOUR PRESENT THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE V.V.S.RAO WRIT PETITION NO : 5108 of 2004 Between: Alluri Georgamma, W/o Late K. George, aged 34 years, R/o Dhulipudi, Nagaram Mandal, Guntur District. ..... PETITIONER AND 1 The District Collector, Guntur District, Guntur. 2 The Mandal Revenue Officer, Nagaram Mandal, Nagaram, Guntur District. .....RESPONDENTS Petition under Article 226 of the constitution of India praying that in the circumstances stated in the Affidavit filed herein the High Court may be pleased to issue an appropriate writ, order or direction, more particularly a writ of Mandamus declaring the action of the respondent No.2 in rejecting the claim of the petitioner vide Lr. No. 921 of 2002 dt.31-10-2003 as illegal, arbitrary and violative of Articles 14, and 21 of the Constitution of India, apart from contrary to the 'APADHBANDHU' scheme and further direct the respondents to immediately release the an amount of Rs.1,00,000/- (Rupees one lakh only) towards insurance claim in view of the death of her husband. Counsel for the Petitioner: MR.M.VIJAY KUMAR Counsel for the Respondent Nos.1 & 2: GP FOR REVENUE (GENERAL) The Court made the following: ORDER: The petitioner Aluri Georgamma is wife of late K. George and resident of Dhulipudi village of Nagaram Mandal in Guntur District. Unfortunately, K. George died of snake bite on 17.09.2002. As it was an unnatural death, the second respondent conducted inquest and arranged for postmortem. Be that as it is, the petitioner made a representation on 26.12.2002 requesting the second respondent to sanction a sum of Rs.1,00,000/- (Rupees One lakh only) under ‘APADHBANDHU’ Scheme (the Scheme, for brevity). By endorsement dated 31.10.2003, the second respondent informed the petitioner that she is not eligible, as the Scheme applies only for the period from 02.10.2001 to 01.10.2002. Seeking proper directions in that regard, the present writ petition is filed. The Government of Andhra Pradesh, by orders in G.O. Ms. No.95, Finance & Planning (Plg.XXII) Department dated 28.9.1998, as modified by G.O. Ms. No.97, Finance & Planning (Plg.XXII) Department dated 30.9.1998, launched the Scheme in collaboration with New India Assurance Company Limited, Hyderabad duly paying a premium. The Scheme was extended from time to time. The said Scheme provides insurance coverage to adults between the age group of 18 and 69 years for payment of ex-gratia in a sum of Rs.50,000/- (Rupees Fifty thousand only) for death due to various reasons including the death due to snake bite. So as to enable proper payment of insurance by Insurance company, the Government issued various G.Os. according sanction for payment of insurance. For the period from 02.10.2001 to 01.10.2002, the Government by orders made in G.O. Ms. No.644, dated 01.10.2001 accorded sanction of Rs.12.00 Crores (Rupees Twelve Crores only) towards payment of insurance premium to New India Assurance Company Limited. The Scheme, a copy of which is annexed to the writ affidavit as well as the G.O. Ms. No.644, nowhere stipulates that the said Scheme is one time scheme. The G.O. Ms. No.644 does not prevent any person claiming relief under the Scheme for the unnatural death of any adult between the age group of 18 and 69 years during the period from 02.10.2001 to 01.10.2002. The Mandal Revenue Officer, second respondent herein, was ex-facie wrong in rejecting the application of the petitioner on that ground. The writ petition, with the above reasons, is allowed. The first respondent is directed to consider the application of the petitioner and release appropriate amount to the petitioner as per G.O. Ms. No.644, dated 01.10.2001, keeping in view the observations made herein above, within a period of six weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. No order as to costs. _____________ October 13, 2004. V.V.S. RAO, J YS That Rule Nisi has been made absolute as above. Witness the Hon’ble Sri Devinder Gupta, the Chief Justice on the Wednesday the Thirteenth day of October Two thousand and four. To 1. The District Collector, Guntur District, Guntur. 2. The Mandal Revenue Officer, Nagaram Mandal, Guntur District. 3. Two CCs to the Government Pleader for Revenue (General), High Court Buildings, Hyderabad (O.U.T) 4. Two C.D. Copies.