Ex gratia for Covid-19 deaths: May ask CAG to inquire into fake claims, says SC

A bench of Justices M R Shah and B V Nagarathna said it never imagined that a ‘pious exercise’ like compensating families of those who had lost their near and dear ones to the pandemic, too, would be misused.

“We never imagined that this can be misused also. This is a very pious work and we thought that our morality has not gone so down that in this also there will be some fake claims,” the bench said.

It added that if any government official is involved in the mischief, it will be a very serious issue that would necessitate an investigation.

“If some officers are involved that is very serious,” the court said adding “we can entrust the inquiry with the Accountant General’s Office”.

The bench adjourned the matter to March 21 so as to enable the Centre “to file an appropriate application for further direction, on limiting the time period to invite applications for ex-gratia payment and seeking further direction on fake claims made and granted in some of the states”.

Advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal, who is one of the petitioners in the matter, told the bench that the issue of fake claims cam be dealt with by applying Section 52 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005.

Justice Shah, however, said this would require someone to file a complaint.

The court added that such a complaint will have to wait till it’s found that the claim is fake which in turn would need an inquiry. “For that someone has to file a complaint. From where do we find these are the fake claims. Someone has to inquire.”

Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, assured the bench that he would file an affidavit addressing the issue of fake claims.

On the previous date of hearing, the SG had urged the bench to fix a time limit for the applications, lest the process become an endless one.

Reiterating the request, the SG told the bench Monday: “First, your lordships may consider fixing some final limit. Whoever now wants to apply, say they apply within four weeks. And, God forbid, there may not be any further death, but if there is any death now, four weeks from the death, so that it is not an endless process,” he said.

The court asked him to file its application stating all this after which it will consider the prayer.

The court was hearing a matter in which it had directed payment of Rs 50,000 as ex gratia to the families of those who had lost their loved ones to Covid-19.

Hearing two petitions filed by Advocates Gaurav Kumar Bansal and Reepak Kansal, the Supreme Court had asked the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) last year to look into the question of providing ex gratia to the next of kin in the case of Covid deaths. Accordingly, the NDMA came up with a sum of Rs 50,000 which was accepted by the court.