The Supreme Court has held that the families of doctors who died while performing COVID-19 duties are entitled to compensation under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP) Insurance Scheme for Health Workers Fighting COVID-19.
A Bench of the Court observed that the Union Government cannot deny benefits to medical professionals who were deployed in COVID wards, isolation centres, hospitals, or any other frontline positions, regardless of whether they were employed in government or private healthcare facilities. The Court stressed that the spirit of the scheme was to acknowledge the extraordinary risks taken by healthcare workers during the pandemic.
The judgment came on petitions filed by families of doctors whose claims had been rejected on technical grounds. The Court stated that such rejections defeated the very purpose of the scheme and directed authorities to process all pending claims expeditiously. It further clarified that the cause of death need not be proven with “rigid” documentation, as long as evidence showed that the deceased was engaged in COVID-related duties at the time of contracting the infection.
Calling doctors “the backbone of India’s battle against COVID-19,” the Supreme Court emphasised that the nation owed them a moral and legal obligation. It also noted that bureaucratic delays and narrow interpretations of policy could not be used to deprive grieving families of rightful financial relief.
The Union Government has been asked to revisit rejected claims, streamline the verification process, and ensure uniformity in decisions across states. The Court’s directions are expected to bring relief to several families who have been waiting for compensation for more than two years.
