Bhubaneswar, April 30 -- The Orissa High Court quashed a recommendation by the Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) to pay Rs 50 lakh in compensation to the family of a deceased civic worker. 

According to The New Indian Express, Justice Sanjeeb Kumar Panigrahi, presiding over a single judge bench, ruled that the deceased did not meet the criteria for a 'Covid Warrior' under the state's specific ex gratia scheme.

The state government had filed a writ petition challenging the OHRC's May 27, 2024 order, which favoured Sujata Singh. Her husband, Sanjib Kumar Das, was employed by the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation to feed stray animals during the lockdown from May 5 to May 19, 2021. 

Although the corporation claimed his disen...