New Delhi: The Supreme Court has directed the states to try and grant compensation to the relatives of Covid victims within ten days of receiving their applications.
Officers not below the rank of deputy secretaries should be appointed as nodal officers in all states for this purpose. The apex court bench comprising Justice M R Shah and Justice B V Nagarathna said the nodal officers should coordinate their activities with the member secretary of State Legal Service Authority (SLSA).
The states should submit details of the Covid victims including their name, address and death certificate to the SLSA within a week.
Any dereliction of duty in this matter will be taken up seriously.
Though these details were sought earlier also, many states provided only statistics and numbers.
The State Legal Service Authority will provide assistance to the relatives of Covid victims in submitting applications and other work.
The Supreme Court criticized the Maharashtra government for rejecting the applications submitted offline. No application should be rejected just because it is filed offline.
The apex court told states not to make the applicants run from pillar to post without any reason.
