COVID Deaths- Hospitals Should Provide All Documents To Family Of Deceased As & When Demanded : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Monday directed all hospitals which provided treatment to Cvid patients to provide all necessary documents of treatment etc. to the family members of those who succumbed to the pandemic, as and when demanded.

The observations have been made in relation to documents required to establish Covid as the cause of death to enable the next of the kin to receive the ex gratia compensation being provided to families of covid victims.

A Bench comprising Justice MR Shah and Justice AS Bopanna has clarified that if any hospital or the place where the deceased had taken treatment refuses to furnish such documents, the Grievance Redressal Committee can call for such information and the particulars as required for purpose of establishing that the death was due to Covid-19 will have to be furnished.

The Grievance Redressal Committee has been directed to be constituted by States to carry out court's direction regarding disbursement of ex gratia compensation to families of covid victims.

The Bench has directed that the next of the kin of the deceased died due to Covid-19 will be paid ex-gratia assistance of an amount of Rs.50,000 which will be minimum and over and above the compensation/amount to be paid by the Centre or State Governments under different benevolent schemes.

Ex-Gratia To Be Paid From State Disaster Response Fund

It has been directed that the ex-gratia assistance will be provided by the States from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and be disbursed by the District Disaster Management Authority or the District Administration. The full particulars and address of such authority has to be be published in the Print Media and Electronic Media.

Amount Be Disbursed Within 30 Days From Application: 

The Court has directed that the ex-gratia assistance will be disbursed within a period of 30 days from the date of submitting the application to the District Administration along with the proof of the death of the deceased due to Covid-19 and the cause of death being certified as "Died due to Covid-19".

The Bench has clarified that for cause of death to be certified as a Covid-19 death, the death certificate will not be the conclusive and if certain other documents are provided the deceased's family will be entitled to the ex-gratia assistance.

Ex gratia Compensation Can't Be Denied Solely On Grounds Of Cause of Death Not Mentioned As 'Died Due To Covid': The Court has observed that no States will deny the ex-gratia assistance of Rs.50,000 to the next of the kin of the deceased who died due to Covid-19 solely on the ground that in the death certificate issued by the appropriate authority, the cause of death is not mentioned as "Died due to Covid-19".

District Level Committees To Address Grievance Relating To Death Certification:

The Court has observed that in case of any grievance with regard to certification of the death, the aggrieved person can approach the Grievance Redressal Committee at District level consisting of Additional District Collector, Chief Medical Officer of Health, Additional CMOH/Principal or HOD Medicine of a Medical College (if one existing in the district) and a subject expert.

The Committee will take remedial measures including issuance of amended official document for Covid-19 death after verifying the facts on production of the necessary documents showing that the death is due to Covid-19.

In case the decision of the Committee is not in favour of the claimant, a clear reason for the same will have to be recorded.

Directions For Certification Of Deaths:

According to the Bench, for the purpose of considering the deaths of the deceased due to Covid, Covid-19 cases would include those which are diagnosed through a positive RT-PCR/Molecular Tests/RAT or clinically determined through investigations in a hospital or in-patient facility by a treating physician, while admitted there.

With regard to the deaths that occur within 30 days from the date of testing or from the date of being clinically determined as a Covid-19 case, the Bench has held that those will be treated as "Deaths due to Covid-19", even if the death takes place outside the hospital/in-patient facility.

Further, Covid-19 cases which are not resolved and have died either in the hospital settings or at home, and where a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) has been issued to the registering authority will also be treated as Covid-19 death.

The Bench has clarified that irrespective of the cause of death mentioned in the death certificate, if a family member satisfies the eligibility criteria as directed by the Court will also be entitled to the ex-gratia payment on production of requisite documents . Therefore no State can deny the ex-gratia payment of Rs. 50,000/- on the ground that in the death certificate the cause of death is not mentioned as "Died due to Covid-19"

The NDMA framed the guidelines for grant of compensation for COVID deaths following the directions issued by the Supreme Court in its June 30 judgment in the PILs filed by Reepak Kansal and Gaurav Kumar Bansal.

Later, Guarav Kumar Bansal filed an application seeking implementation of the directions. Following that, the NDMA framed guidelines, recommending ex-gratia compensation of Rs 50,000 to the relatives of persons certified as having died of COVID, which is to be paid by the States from the State Disaster Response Funds.

Case Title : Gaurav Kumar Bansal v. Union of India|MA 1120/2021 in W.P.(C) No. 539/202

Citation : LL 2021 SC 536

Click here to read/download the judgment