From Our Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday warned the doctors issuing fake medical certificates of Covid-19 deaths to get the families an ex-gratia compensation of Rs 50,000, threatening to order an independent probe to catch such doctors.
Justice M R Shah, heading a Bench with Jusstice B V Nagarathna, sought suggestions to curb the malpractice, posting the matter after a week on March 14. “Our orders (on compensation) should not be allowed to be misused,” the Bench said.
The issue of the fake Covid-19 certificates was brought to notice of the court by solicitor general Tushar Mehta. He suggested a definite time limit for filling the compensation application to avail the benefit of ex-gratia compensation by next of kin of those who have succumbed to the deadly COVID-19.
Pleading for a limitation of the period as the [process cannot go on indefinitely, he said: ““This court may direct that whoever applies gets the compensation, but there may be a direction that there should be a fixed date and it cannot be an endless process.”
The bench also agreed that the process of application cannot go on indefinitely. “There must be some time limit, otherwise the process will go endlessly, even for 5-6 years,” it said.
It was hearing a petition by lawyer-cum-petitioner Gaurav Kumar Bansal on the families not getting the due compensation.
Earlier, the top court had approved the Centre’s disaster management guidelines on payment of Rs 50,000 ex-gratia compensation to the next kin of those who died of Covid-19 and said the money should be disbursed within 30 days of applying.
On the previous hearing, the top court had directed all the states governments and Union Territories to appoint dedicated nodal officer, not below the rank of Deputy Secretary in the Chief Minister’s Secretariat, to coordinate with the member secretary of the State Legal Services Authority (SLSA) to facilitate payment of ex-gratia compensation to family members of COVID-19 victims. It had said the nodal officer should ensure all eligible claimants apply for the ex-gratia compensation and nobody is turned away.
