The Supreme Court in New Delhi today expressed outrage that state governments were dragging their feet when it came to compensating victims of the Covid drug. The court chastised the governments of Maharashtra, West Bengal, and Rajasthan for failing to prevent the disease’s spread. The Supreme Court awarded an additional $50,000 to the families of those who died as a result of Covid-19 in October, in addition to what the federal and state governments had already spent on various benevolent programmes.
The case was heard by a two-judge panel that included Justices MR Shah and BV Nagarathna.
“We are extremely disappointed by the Maharashtra government’s affidavit. Over a million people have died in Maharashtra, but only 37,000 have applied for compensation. We haven’t heard anything yet about anyone receiving anything.” Justice Shah, a lawyer for the Maharashtra government, claims It was “ridiculous” in his opinion, so it couldn’t be accepted.
Justice Shah warned the Maharashtra government’s lawyer, Sachin Patil, that if he requested more time to begin disbursing compensation, the court would impose strictures, and stated, “We will file an affidavit on compliance soon.” “You keep it in your pocket,” he said of obtaining the affidavit. “Give it to your police chief.”
The Supreme Court issued an order requiring the Maharashtra government to make compensation payments immediately.
In West Bengal, there were over 19,000 Covid deaths but only 467 applications. Furthermore, only 110 of them have received compensation thus far.
The court also stated that most state governments only set up online portals after receiving a notice from the Supreme Court on December 3rd of this year.
“State governments awoke and established online portals” after being compelled to do so by the courts, Justice Shah observed.
The court noted that nearly 9,000 Covid deaths occurred in Rajasthan, but only 595 applications were filed, and no compensation was paid to anyone. “Tell your government to be human,” Justice Shah yelled at the state government’s lawyer.
The court ordered these state governments to increase public awareness of the compensation scheme in newspapers, television, and radio in order to encourage more people to apply for compensation.
