The Delhi High Court has held that under the Chief Minister Advocates Welfare Scheme, mere registration and even prior temporary extension of insurance benefits pursuant to court orders do not confer a continuing right to reimbursement unless the advocate’s enrolment and EPIC details stand duly verified and the advocate forms part of the final verified list of beneficiaries for the relevant policy period. Once the earlier judgment extending benefits was stayed, the petitioner’s entitlement reverted to the original position under the Scheme, under which only verified advocates were eligible.
Accordingly, in the absence of verification and in the absence of inclusion in the renewal database for 2022, no writ of mandamus could be issued directing reimbursement of the petitioner’s medical expenses for that period. The Court also held that a claim of legitimate expectation cannot override the express terms of the Scheme notices or the legal consequence of the stay order, particularly where the petitioner had notice of the requirement to update or reapply and failed to do so.
A Single Judge Bench of Justice Anish Dayal observed that the petitioner’s position in 2022 had to be tested not merely on the basis of past issuance of an e-card or prior reimbursement, but on whether he formed part of the final verified list of beneficiaries at the relevant time. It held that the petitioner had received the earlier benefit only because of the interim judicial directions under which even unverified applicants were temporarily extended coverage, and that such benefit could not survive once the judgment in W.P.(C) 3298/2020 was stayed by the Division Bench.
The Bench placed significance on the express language of the notice dated 7 February 2022, which made clear that only advocates whose names appeared in the final list of beneficiaries need not apply afresh, and that mere registration did not entitle an advocate to the Scheme unless the enrolment number and EPIC number were verified.
The Bench further observed that the petitioner had been given opportunities to correct or update his particulars, both during the earlier updation window and again pursuant to the 2022 notice, but did not avail them. In that background, his plea of legitimate expectation was rejected, and the Bench held that he could not rely upon the temporary benefit earlier extended under judicial orders to claim continued status as a beneficiary in 2022 when his verification had not been completed.
Briefly, the petitioner, an advocate enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi, sought reimbursement of medical expenses incurred for treatment of prostate cancer in 2022 under the Chief Minister Advocates Welfare Scheme (CMAWS), contending that he had already registered under the Scheme and had earlier been issued an e-card under the Group Mediclaim Insurance Policy. His EPIC details, however, had remained unverified from the outset.
In the earlier round of litigation concerning the Scheme, this Court had directed issuance of e-cards even to applicants whose verification was pending, and the petitioner accordingly received the benefit of coverage during that period, including reimbursement for COVID-19 treatment and cashless approval for cataract surgery in 2021. Subsequently, the judgment extending the Scheme broadly was stayed by the Division Bench, after which the benefit continued only for advocates whose details stood verified.
Although a notice dated 7 February 2022 stated that advocates already appearing in the final list of beneficiaries need not apply afresh, it also expressly clarified that mere registration did not confer benefits unless enrolment and EPIC details were verified, and it allowed correction or updating of particulars on the portal. The petitioner neither applied afresh nor corrected his details within the relevant opportunity in 2022, and his reimbursement claim for treatment in 2022 was rejected on the ground that he was not covered in the renewal database. He was extended the benefit of the Scheme only later, after a fresh application in 2023 with a new voter ID card and subsequent verification of his EPIC details.
