SC seeks Centre’s response to petition seeking compensation to families of Covid deceased; queries govt about policy regarding death certificates for Covid-related fatalities

THE Supreme Court Monday asked the Central Government to file its reply to a petition seeking compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the families of those who died due to Covid19 under the Disaster Management Act.

A vacation bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and MR Shah passed the order to this effect.

The bench also asked the Centre while hearing a connected matter to apprise it of whether there was a uniform policy for issuing certificates for those who had died from Covid; whether the death certificates mentioned Covid as the trigger for the ailments that led to the death of a patient.

The bench said unless there was a uniform policy for issuing a death certificate stating the cause was Covid19, the families of the deceased would not be able to avail the compensation.

The court was hearing two petitions filed by Gaurav Kumar Bansal and Reepak Kansal respectively.