Summary
In this 2021 implementation order, the Court directed payment of fifty thousand rupees to the next of kin of persons who died due to COVID-19 as minimum ex gratia assistance, additional to other benevolent schemes. States were to fund it through SDRF and district authorities to disburse it within thirty days of the required application and documents. A death certificate omitting COVID-19 was not conclusive. The Court prescribed inclusive eligibility, correction and grievance procedures, including assistance for families of persons who died by suicide within thirty days of diagnosis.
Issues
- How the COVID-19 death assistance guidelines should be implemented under Section 12(iii).
- Whether omission of COVID-19 from a death certificate could alone defeat an otherwise eligible claim.
- What eligibility, certification, documentation and grievance safeguards were required.
Provisions considered
- Section 12(iii), Disaster Management Act, 2005The NDMA guidelines and binding implementation directions provided minimum ex gratia assistance for loss of life, with State funding through SDRF and district-level disbursement. (¶¶ 1, 2, 4, 9, 10, 11, 12)
Held
- Fifty thousand rupees per eligible deceased person was directed as minimum ex gratia assistance over and above compensation under other benevolent schemes. States were to provide SDRF funds, district authorities to disburse payment within thirty days of the application with required proof, and relevant authority details to receive wide publicity. (¶¶ 4, 9, 10(i), 10(ii), 10(iii), 10(iv), 10(v))
- Eligibility included deaths within thirty days of testing or clinical determination as COVID-19, even outside hospital, and deaths after a continuous hospital admission extending beyond thirty days. Unresolved cases meeting the specified medical-certification criteria were also covered. Families of persons who died by suicide within thirty days of a positive diagnosis were expressly included, notwithstanding the earlier guideline exclusion. (¶¶ 5, 6, 7, 8, 11(i), 11(ii), 11(iii), 11(iv), 11(vi))
- Absence of COVID-19 as the stated cause on the death certificate could not alone defeat an eligible claim supported by the requisite documents. Existing certificates could be corrected through the issuing or registering authority and, if necessary, the grievance committee. Hospitals had to provide treatment records to families or the committee. (¶¶ 10(vi), 10(vii), 10(viii), 11(iv), 11(v), 11(ix))
- District grievance committees and corresponding municipal arrangements were required, with published details. Adverse decisions required clear reasons. Payment grievances were to be examined against contemporaneous medical records within thirty days, and the authorities were directed to assist families without technical obstruction. (¶¶ 10(viii), 10(ix), 10(x), 11(vii), 11(viii))
- The order directed continuation for future pandemic phases under the scheme and required NDMA and the Union health ministry to incorporate these binding directions in guidelines for States and Union Territories. These are the directions recorded in the October 2021 order. (¶¶ 10(xi), 12, 13)
Result
Miscellaneous application disposed of with binding directions on COVID-19 death assistance, eligibility, certification, disbursement, publicity and grievance redressal.