"Ask Your Government To Be Human": Court On States Delaying Covid Relief

The court also directed these state governments to ensure wider publicity about the compensation scheme so that more people can come forward.

The Supreme Court today lashed out at state governments for delays in compensation payments for deaths due to Covid. The court rapped the governments of Maharashtra, West Bengal, and Rajasthan. The SC had in October approved the payment of Rs 50,000 to families of people who died of Covid-19, to be paid over and above the amounts paid by centre and state under various benevolent schemes.

A two-judge bench of Justices MR Shah and BV Nagarathna was hearing the matter. 

"We are not at all happy with the affidavit filed by the Maharashtra government. Over 1 lakh deaths have been recorded in Maharashtra but only 37,000 applications were received. Not a single person has been paid compensation yet," Justice Shah told the lawyer for the Maharashtra Government. It was "ridiculous" and cannot be accepted, he added.

When Sachin Patil, the lawyer for the Maharashtra government sought more time to start disbursing the compensation and said, "We will file an affidavit on compliance soon", Justice Shah warned him that the court would pass strictures against the state government. "You keep it (the affidavit) in your pocket and give it to your CM," he said.