Overruling the objections raised by the government, the Supreme Court of India has ordered payment of ex-gratia relief to the kin of Covid-19 victims. It is a welcome move as it will ease the financial burden of nearly four lakh families who have lost their near and dear ones to the ongoing pandemic. The number of victims will continue to increase as the pandemic is not yet under control. Initially, the talk of ex-gratia payment was objected on the grounds that a pandemic cannot be equated with more frequent disasters such as cyclones or earthquakes as it is a prolonged phenomenon. Moreover, a pandemic is a health crisis and is not caused due to nature’s fury. Thus, a pandemic cannot be termed as a disaster as per the Disaster Management Act, 2005. At the same time, to combat the pandemic the government is spending huge amounts on medicines, vaccines along with creating health infrastructures. So, any additional expenditure will put the state’s exchequer under tremendous pressure, argued the government.
But the Supreme Court has rejected all arguments. In its ruling, the apex court has mentioned that in March 2020 after the outbreak of the pandemic the government notified it as a disaster. By citing the Disaster Management Act now, the government is contradicting itself, the court asserted. The Supreme Court expressed the opinion that the government should treat every disaster victim equally. The top court at the same time ordered the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to prepare a proper guideline to reach the victims. By entrusting this particular responsibility to NDMA, the apex court has made it clear that it wants smooth transfer of financial help to the victims’ families as the present procedure has often been misused.
Providing financial help to the victims’ families is indeed a herculean task, especially in a vast country like India. Further, every covid-related death has not been accounted for as there are still places in our country which are devoid of any medical help. So, covid-affected persons living in those places have died without proper treatment. Moreover, during the peak of the second covid wave, it is being alleged that many dumped bodies of dead family members in rivers as proper cremation was not possible due to abnormal rise in the number of deaths. The apex court has not clarified whether such families can also claim financial help. Perhaps, the Supreme Court will take a decision on this aspect after formation of the guidelines. While lauding the decision of the Supreme Court, it should also be highlighted that India’s record regarding payment of government compensation is highly unsatisfactory. Many victims of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy are still running pillar to post to get relief. Absence of a proper framework in identifying the victims has caused this delay. Hopefully, this time there will be no such hurdles and financial assistance will reach the victims of the Covid-19 pandemic in a timely fashion.