New Delhi : The Supreme Court on Wednesday called for compensation for families whose members died of Covid. The National Disaster Management Authority is obliged to pay compensation against Covid deaths in the country, the court said.
The ruling comes over centre’s rejection that it cannot pay compensation to bereaved families. Refusing to compensate covid deaths would mean lapse of legal responsibility, said the top court. The National Disaster Mgt. Authority can fix the compensation amount in this regard, it added. In the ruling, the Bench head by Justice Ahok Bhushan asked government to prepare guideline for compensation.
The Bench pointed out that families of covid victims are eligible for compensation stated under section 12 of National Disaster Management Act similar to those that are paid for natural disasters.
The court also instructed the centre to issue simplified guideline toward issuing Covid death certificates.
