Form of words:
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday expressed displeasure over the delay in framing guidelines for issuance of death certificates to the families of those who died of COVID-19 and directed the Center to file a compliance report by September 11.
“We passed the order long back. We have already extended the time once. By the time you frame the guidelines, the third phase will also be over”, said a bench of Justices MR Shah and Aniruddha Bose.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, assured the court that everything is under consideration.
Advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal, who filed the petition, submitted that things should not be delayed on the pretext of consideration as the apex court has already given four weeks extension to the Center on August 16 to frame guidelines for ex-gratia compensation and now It is asking for more time.
Advocate Sumir Sodhi, appearing for some of the applicants, submitted that the extension of time for the first direction passed on June 30 expires on September 8.
The bench said it is for the Center to decide on the compensation within that period and today it is adjourning the matter only for the purpose of compliance with other directions.
“Submit on September 13 as the Solicitor General has sought time to enable the Union of India to comply with the earlier order and record compliance report of other directions issued by this Court on June 30, 2021. Compliance Report Registry to be filed with or before September 11,” the bench said.
The apex court, in its June 30 judgment, had directed the National Disaster Management Authority to take suitable guidelines for ex-gratia assistance for loss of life to the family members of persons who died due to COVID-19 within six weeks. Recommend.
The Center had made an application seeking some more time to frame the guidelines on the ground that the exercise which was under active consideration of the NDMA, was at an advanced stage and required a little more thorough investigation.
In its June 30 judgment, the top court had also ordered steps to simplify guidelines for issuance and rectification of death certificates/official documents, stating the exact cause of death, which are dependents. To achieve is ‘Death due to Covid-19’. Benefits of welfare schemes.
The apex court’s decision came on two separate petitions filed by advocates Ripak Kansal and Gaurav Kumar Bansal, seeking a direction to the Center and states to pay a compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the families of coronavirus victims as per the provision under the Act. Went.
Four interventionists who lost their family members due to COVID have also moved the apex court, stating that there cannot be any discrimination in the amount being paid by different states to the family members of those people, who succumbed to the deadly infection.
The apex court in its judgment, however, had noted the peculiarities and impact and effect of the pandemic and said that it cannot order payment of Rs four lakh as ex-gratia compensation, which has to be decided by the NDMA because What was needed was a simultaneous focus on prevention, preparedness, mitigation and recovery, which demanded a different sequence of mobilization of resources, both financial and technical.
“We direct the NDMA to recommend guidelines for ex-gratia assistance for loss of life to the family members of persons who die due to COVID-19 compulsorily under Section 12 (iii) of the Disaster Management Act (DMA) 2005 give. Minimum Standards of Relief to be Provided to Persons Affected by Disaster – COVID-19 Pandemic, in addition to the guidelines already recommended for providing minimum standards of relief to persons affected by Covid-19, it had said.
It had also directed the Center to take appropriate steps on the recommendations of the Finance Commission on providing insurance cover for deaths due to COVID.
subscribe our channel youtube And Wire
Why is the news media in crisis and how can you fix it?
India needs free, unbiased, non-hyphenated and questionable journalism even more as it is facing many crises.
But the news media itself is in trouble. There have been brutal layoffs and pay-cuts. The best of journalism are shrinking, yielding to raw prime-time spectacle.
ThePrint has the best young journalists, columnists and editors to work for it. Smart and thinking people like you will have to pay a price to maintain this quality of journalism. Whether you live in India or abroad, you can Here.