SC Approves ₹50,000 For Families Of COVID Victims, Asks States To Pay In 30 Days
Mumbai: Supreme Court has approved ex-gratia compensation of ₹50,000 for families of COVID-19 victims.
The Supreme Court has passed an order on a plea seeking implementation of the court’s order directing the NDMA to frame guidelines for payment of ex-gratia compensation to COVID-19 victims.
Justice MR Shah said during the hearing on Monday, “An amount of Rs 50,000 will be paid to the next of kin of the deceased and it will be more than the amount paid by the Center and the state under various philanthropic schemes.”
“No state shall deny the benefit of Rs 50,000 on the ground that the cause of death in the death certificate is not Covid-19. The district administration will take corrective steps to ascertain the cause of death. The details of the district-level committee will be published in the print media,” the Supreme Court ruled.
The court has further said that the payment will be made from the State Disaster Relief Fund. The compensation amount has to be paid within 30 days of the application and the cause of death has to be certified as COVID-19.
Justice MR Shah has also said, “Ex-gratia will continue to be provided for deaths that occur after the date of the judgement.”
The court has said that the Grievance Redressal Committee can examine the medical record of the deceased patient and call it within 30 days and order compensation. The committee will have the right to call for the records from the hospitals.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has recommended that Rs 50,000 be given to the next of kin of those who died of Covid-19, the Center informed the Supreme Court last month.
The government had said that ex gratia assistance will also be given to the kin of those who died of the virus due to involvement in Covid-19 relief operations or activities associated with the preparedness for dealing with the pandemic.
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