Compensation for Covid deaths: SC gives Centre 6 weeks to frame norms

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Central government to frame guidelines regarding compensation for Covid deaths within six weeks.

The court has not fixed any amount that is to be given and has left it to the wisdom of the National Disaster Management Authority.

The order came on two petitions which claimed that Covid being a disaster notified under the Disaster Management Act 2005, the Central government will be bound to pay an ex-gratia of ₹4 lakh for those who died during the disaster.

On March 14, 2020, the Centre had declared Covid-19 to be a disaster under DMA.

The Centre had argued that while passing the DMA, the legislature did not contemplate a pandemic situation as the Act was meant to provide relief for one-time events such as earthquakes, cyclones etc.