During a plea hearing on Monday, the Delhi High Court has directed the Centre and the AAP government to treat the petition as a representation seeking framing of guidelines for providing compensation to the families of patients who have succumbed to coronavirus during the second covid pandemic due to shortage of oxygen.
The HC has also asked the Centre and the Delhi government if any policy can be formed for compensating the people who have lost their lives due to lack of life-saving oxygen.
The court, however, has not issued any notice to both the governments relating to this plea.
The petition which was filed by lawyer Purav Middha was heard by a bench composed of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh. The judges stated the grant of compensation is a policy-making decision and courts cannot interfere with that.
The court has also asked both the governments to decide according to the law, rules, regulations and government policy applicable to the facts of the case, adding that a functional decision should be taken as early as possible and at the disposal of the plea.
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India in April and May was hit by a massive record-breaking surge in covid cases with the onset of the second covid wave of the pandemic. Registering a high number of daily cases, several states have reported a severe shortage of oxygen, beds and other essential medical equipment. Seeing the surge, hospitals were overburdened and the healthcare workers and other resources were seen lacking in the country, bringing the health infrastructure to the brink of collapse.