A Division Bench of Justices M. Sathyanarayanan and Pushpa Sathyanarayana of the Madras High Court while passing the order in the matter of T.Sivakumar v. The Secretary to Government of India and Ors. on May 15, 2020, had directed oil companies like Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd., Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd., and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. to ensure availability of Masks, gloves, and sanitizer LPG cylinder delivery boys.
A writ petition was filed by the petitioner who is the State Vice President of Tamil Nadu LPG Cylinder Deliveryman's Employees Union, under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying for the issuance of Writ of Mandamus, to direct the respondent companies to provide proper insurance coverage up to 25 lakhs for LPG deliverymen in case of death due to coronavirus infection and to provide all LPG deliverymen with necessary preventive materials to contain the spread of Corona Virus, such as N95 safety masks and gloves set for each cylinder, and sufficient quantity of hand wash liquid for washing of their hands.
After considering rival submissions, the Court noted that,
“This Court is of the considered view that proper and effective mechanism has also been put in place for the safety of the delivery boys and the Management of the Oil Corporations shall also cause a periodical inspection and also surprise inspections as to the compliance for the provision of safety gears such as masks, sanitizers, etc., and shall also follow it properly at regular intervals.”
