SC directs States, UTs not to decline COVID ex-gratia to families on technical grounds

The Supreme Court on Friday directed the States and Union Territories not to reject any application seeking ex gratia amount of Rs 50,000 on account of COVID 19-induced death of a family member(s) on technical grounds, instead to find a solution for it. The court observed that the ultimate goal of the whole exercise is to provide some solace to the family of the deceased.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday directed the States and Union Territories not to reject any application seeking ex gratia amount of Rs 50,000 on account of COVID 19-induced death of a family member(s) on technical grounds, instead to find a solution for it. The court observed that the ultimate goal of the whole exercise is to provide some solace to the family of the deceased.

It also ordered the states and union territories to ensure payment of ex gratia within 10 days of receipt of application.

The Maharashtra government is rejecting offline applications, for which the court pulled up the state. The SC bench, comprising Justices MR Shah and BV Nagaratha, said that it has received information that people are approaching the Bombay High Court for the grievance, noting that a total of 2,27,000 applications were received by the state, among which 61,000 applications were rejected. Among the rejected applications, the ground of rejection for some was that they were filed offline.

The bench passed the order while hearing a petition pertaining to the payment of ex gratia to the families of those who died due to the pandemic. The court has also asked the states to publicize the scheme in all the leading local newspapers so that people are aware of it and can avail the benefits.

The states were thereafter asked to submit particulars such as the number of advertisements they published, outlets where they were published, applications received by them, amount of money granted to concerned parties, etc.

The apex court also lashed out at the states today for failing to submit the particulars of the payee despite its repeated orders, saying that the objective for seeking particulars is to understand the people who have not approached for compensation and prompt the Legal services Authority to reach out to them.

The court directed the states to appoint a dedicated officer to coordinate with the Legal Services Authority to ensure that compensation reaches eligible people. If the member secretary of LSA faces any problem, he/she can approach the state-appointed nodal officer.

The bench asked the states to provide full particulars to the State Legal Services Authority in terms of the information uploaded on the Bal swaraj portal of the NCPCR. There were no particulars given to the orphans by the states today.