Latest News
Back
Document:
COVID19 Victims Are Legally Entitled to Ex-Gratia Compensation: Supreme Court
COVID-19 Victims Are Legally Entitled to Ex-Gratia Compensation: Supreme Court
The Supreme court has ruled on Tuesday that under the Disaster Management Act, the National Disaster Management Authority has the statutory obligation to at least develop such criteria from which the covid 19 victims will get some minimal ex-gratia assistance. As we know that the court while dismissing the claim of the central government which was held that section 12 of the Disaster Management Act has imposed a statutory mandate on the National Disaster Management Authority to at least recommend not more but minimal relied upon who all are the victim of the covid 19 and the victim of the national disasters. So that they can at least get on-time bread who are very poor and the earning man has died due to the covid 19.
If they will get this help from the National Disaster Management Authority they can survive and they can also find other ways or they can start their business. And as we know that according to the court the minimum remedies shall also include the ‘ex-gratia aid’ which comes under section 12 (3).
Later on, the court has said that any particular amount won’t be decided by the court it is the duty of the government to decide how much to give and according to what, and therefore it has been decided that the national authority will develop some criteria from which within six they will provide the ex-gratia ais t the covid 19 victims. This judgment was given by justice MR Shah and including Justice Bhushan. The court has observed that the government is planning to give ex-gratia aid to the victims of the covid 19 but due to this, the financial hardship will be placed on the government. And the result of that will it differed from the wisdom of the national authority. But it's very important to give some aid to the families of the covid 19 victims it will help them.
The MHA had submitted that there is no precedent of giving ex-gratia for an ongoing disease or any disaster event of long duration, extending for several months or years, and if the government is granting relief for one disease then it will be unfair for the other disease like the mortality like the government is granting for one disease and ignoring and denying for the other disease which is accounting for the larger share of mortality and this would be unfair and would create unfairness and invidious discrimination among the people and they will see as the government is discriminating.
After all these discussions have taken place there were several; writ petitions have been filed before the different High Courts of the country, and as we remember one such type of writ petition has also been filed in the Allahabad High Court at Lucknow which sought the same relief means which was allowed by the supreme court same as that.
Document:
