The Delhi High Court has ordered release of Rs. 1 crore ex-gratia compensation to the husband and minor son of a health care worker who died on COVID-19 duty during the first wave of pandemic. Justice.
The court said the government can verify 5% of claims in four states – Maharashtra, Kerala, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh – where the gap between the number of claims and recorded deaths was wide.
The Supreme Court has held that filing of false claims for ex-gratia compensation for COVID-19 deaths is a punishable offence under Section 52 of the Disaster Management Act besides being against morality and ethics
Many of the deaths that Kerala is reporting are part of a revision of its official death toll. If states like Gujarat were to follow its lead, the situation in Kerala may not appear so grim.