SC seeks Centre’s response on compensation to Covid victims’ kin

PTI, May 24, 2021, 12:29 PM IST

New Delhi: 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 coronavirus.

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 coronavirus 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 Covid, the kin of the victims would not be able to claim benefits of any compensation scheme, if given.

The bench posted the matter on June 11 and asked the Centre to file its reply by then.