"National Authority to recommend appropriate guidelines for ex gratia assistance on account of loss of life due to Covid-19 pandemic": Supreme Court
Supreme Court of India In two separate petitions filed on behalf of coronavirus victims, lawyers Reepak Kansal and Gaurav Kumar Bansal sought directions from the Supreme Court to the Centre and states to provide Rs. 4,00,000 as compensation under the Disaster Management Act. According to the Centre, there was no issue regarding fiscal affordability, but ex-gratia compensation of Rs. 4,00,000 to the families of COVID victims cannot be paid keeping in mind the "rational, judicious and optimum usage of resources of the nation". The court has held that the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) must issue new guidelines concerning the minimum standard of relief to be granted to families of COVID-19 victims within six weeks. While the court will not direct the centre to fix a specific amount, the government can propose a minimum standard of ex-gratia amount to be given to surviving family members of those killed in COVID-19 while taking certain aspects into account. While d...