Concerned over fake Covid-19 death certificates being used to claim ex gratia due to the kin of those who had died of Covid infection, the Supreme Court on Monday indicated that it might order an inquiry to curb this.
A Bench of Justices MR Shah and BV Nagarathna also agreed that there should be an outer limit for raising compensation claims lest it turn into an endless process.
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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 relatives 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 the kin in the case of Covid deaths. Accordingly, the NDMA came up with a sum of Rs 50,000 that was accepted by the court.
On Monday, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta pointed out that the court had said that the compensation could be allowed even without an RTPCR certificate if there was a doctor’s certificate, but this was being misused.
The Solicitor General also said the process would go on endlessly if an outer limit was not fixed for submitting the claims. “I would urge the court to have some outer line for the deaths that have already occurred… This process may not be endless,” he said.
Justice Shah said: “There must be some time limit, otherwise the process will go endlessly, maybe even for five-six years.”
Calling the fake death certificates “worrying”, Justice Shah said: “What is worrying is the fake certificate given by doctors… it is a very serious thing.”
Adjourning the hearing to March 14, the Bench sought suggestions on how to curb the menace. “Please suggest how can we curb the issue of fake certificates being issued by doctors. It may take away someone’s real opportunity,” Justice Shah added.