Centre Has 6 Weeks To Frame Rules For Compensation For Covid Victims

Wednesday, 30 June 2021Newsdesk

Families of COVID-19 victims must get financial compensation, the Supreme Court said Wednesday morning, giving the NDMA, or National Disaster Management Authority, six weeks to decide on the amount and frame the required guidelines.Noting it was not within its ambit to decide on compensation rules or amount, the court criticised the NDMA - the agency responsible for such details - for failing to discharge its duty, and said it was bound to give "minimum standards of relief, which includes ex-gratia assistance".

New Delhi, 30 June 2021

As per news report of NDTV,"We direct NDMA to form guidelines for ex-gratia compensation for family members of persons who succumbed to Covid, as per minimum standards of relief," a two-member bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, who retires on July 4, and MR Shah said in what will come as huge relief for victims' families. "What reasonable amount is to be provided is left to the wisdom of the authority," the judges added. Importantly, the court said that as per the Disaster Management Act, "minimum standards of relief", which includes payment of financial assistance is mandatory and not discretionary. The court also said death certificates for those who had died of COVID-19 must include the date and cause of death (CoD), and also have mechanisms to correct CoD if the family is not satisfied.

Source -NDTV