E-Paper
SC grants Centre 6 weeks to fix ex-gratia for deaths due to Covid-19
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 (NDMA)
The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Centre to frame guidelines specifying ex-gratia amount for persons who died due to Covid-19 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 (NDMA).
The order came on two separate petitions filed by advocates Gaurav Kumar Bansal and Reepak Kansal which claimed that Covid being a disaster notified under the Disaster Management Act (DMA) 2005, the Central government will be bound by Section 12(iii) of the Act providing for 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 court said under Section 12(iii) of DMA, it was mandatory for NDMA to issue guidelines on ex-gratia under minimum standards of relief as the word used in the Act is “shall”.
“The statutory duty is cast upon the authority to frame guidelines for ex-gratia. By not recommending ex-gratia, it can be said that the national authority (NDMA) failed to perform its statutory duty under Section 12 of DMA,” said the bench of justices Ashok Bhushan and MR Shah.
The guidelines for ex-gratia would be guided by the requirement, availability of funds, and money allocated for other measures needed for mitigation, prevention and relief with regard to Covid-19.
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 or a few incidents taking place periodically for some time. Further, the Centre argued that during Covid-19, it had adopted a multi-pronged approach in containing the harm caused by disaster by augmenting hospital infrastructure, medical supplies, drugs, insurance to health care providers and food safety to poor citizens. According to the Government, in such a scenario, granting ex-gratia may not be understood as “shall” but “may”.
In an affidavit filed before the top court on June 19, the Centre claimed that granting ₹4 lakh ex-gratia for Covid-19 deaths was “beyond fiscal affordability” of states. However, during arguments, the Centre said this did not mean that it had no money but considering the fact that the pandemic is ongoing, funds need to be allocated on multiple fronts.
The petitioners argued that fiscal constraint can never be a ground to deny relief entitled to citizens under the DMA.
The court also directed Centre to issue simplified guidelines for issuance of certificate of death due to Covid-19 and for making corrections in the certificate already issued. The bench further directed Centre to take appropriate steps for providing insurance cover as recommended by the finance commission
