Supreme Court seeks Centre’s response on compensation to Covid19 victims’

 

The Supreme Court on Monday sought response from the Centre on a plea seeking compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the families of those who have died from corona virus.

A Vacation Bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and M R Shah also asked the Centre to place before it the ICMR guidelines on issuance of death certificates for Covid-19 victims, saying there should be uniform policy for issuing such documents.

The apex court was hearing two separate pleas seeking directions to the Centre and states to provide compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the families of corona virus victims as provisioned under the Disaster Management Act of 2005, and a uniform policy for issuance of death certificates.

The Bench said unless there was a uniform policy for issuance of any official document or death certificate stating that the cause of death was Covid19, the kin of the victims would not be able to claim benefits of any compensation scheme, if given.