Himachal Pradesh HC quashes deduction of CM Relief fund from retired Police Inspector’s Medical reimbursement
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Shimka, Nov 29,
The Himachal Pradesh High Court has held that the State cannot deduct the amount granted under the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF) from a retired employee’s medical reimbursement claim, terming the action “arbitrary, unjust and not sustainable.”
Justice Ajay Mohan Goel delivered the judgment in the case Pritam Marshal vs State of Himachal Pradesh & others (CWP No. 4155 of 2025), decided on November 17, 2025. The full judgment is part of the court record .
Why the petitioner moved the Court
The petitioner, Pritam Marshal, a 68-year-old retired Police Inspector, had approached the High Court after the department ordered that his medical reimbursement bills be cleared only after deducting Rs. 1,25,000 — an amount he had received from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund in 2012. He challenged this deduction through the impugned communication dated 22 January 2018 (Annexure P-8), seeking quashing of the order and refund of the deducted amount.
Marshal had sought financial help from the then Chief Minister in 2012 for the treatment of his son suffering from chronic kidney failure. The CM approved Rs. 1,25,000 from the CMRF, which the petitioner spent entirely on the child’s treatment. No departmental medical reimbursement was claimed at that time.
Over the next several years, the petitioner continued to bear heavy medical expenses as his son underwent long-term treatment at PGIMER Chandigarh, with monthly costs estimated at around Rs. 35,000. After his son passed away in 2021, the petitioner submitted medical reimbursement claims for the accumulated expenses. It was at this stage that the department deducted the earlier CMRF amount, prompting him to approach the court.
Court’s findings
The Court observed that the CMRF amount was a compassionate grant, released unconditionally and not meant to be clawed back. Justice Goel noted that there was no inquiry showing misuse of the fund and no evidence that the petitioner sought any double benefit. The relief fund was not paid from the department’s own budget, the Court added.
Calling the petitioner’s circumstances “painful physically and emotionally,” the Court held that the department should have shown greater compassion, especially after the loss of a young son to a decade-long illness.
Order
The High Court quashed the deduction order and directed the State to release the petitioner’s full medical reimbursement without adjusting the Rs. 1,25,000 granted in 2012 from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.
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