The Supreme Court Mandates Compensation For COVID Victims

Highlights

• The Supreme Court has asked the NDMA to provide compensation for the victims of the pandemic
• The decision of compensation for COVID victims must not be compromised at any scale, as stated by the Supreme Court
• The Disaster Management Act, section 13 mandates these measures for the safety of people.

The Supreme Court has admonished the Union Government for not being able to perform its duty towards the people during the pandemic. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has been held accountable for this lack of action towards the people of the country in such trying times. The Supreme Court has issued some guidelines which might be able to provide some kind of relief to the family members of those who have lost their lives due to the pandemic. These guidelines mandate that the government must provide compensation for COVID victims.

Decision Of Compensation For COVID Victims

The Supreme Court Justices Ashok Bhushan and M.R. Shah has stated that it is the duty of the National Authority to make sure that the bare minimum standards of good living and relief must be provided to the people affected by the disasters. This has been mentioned in the Disaster Management Act, 2005 in Section 12. It has been universally accepted by now that the pandemic has been a disaster for the nation. Hence, the act must be put into action after so much damage.

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Supreme Court Goes For Limited Compensation

This order came to action after the Supreme Court had received a bunch of petitions from the state governments, stating that the ex gratia compensation of 4 lakhs must be paid to the people who have lost their family members to this fatal infection. The amount of compensation has been debated by the Supreme Court as well. It has mentioned that the country might suffer from some great damage, but no nation has unlimited resources to provide for the people. The value of compensation might be considered by the court in this matter of compensation for COVID victims.

The court has further informed that the government resources must be used judiciously at this point so that relief or pandemic packages are distributed at the right interval. The “shall” clause must never be read as “may” in section 12 as it has been done by the Central Government. The Supreme Court has elucidated that the language of this act is very clear about the compensation to be provided to people.

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What Should Be Done?

Do you think that it is ethical for the Central Government to be reluctant in providing compensation for COVID Victims? Let us know your views in the comment section.
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