Is the Centre Legally Obligated to Pay Ex-Gratia for COVID Deaths?

<div>The Supreme Court in its ruling on Wednesday, 30 June, made it abundantly clear that as far as COVID is concerned, it is a ‘disaster' under the Disaster Management Act (DMA) of 2005. It further pulled up the National Disaster Management Authority on doing the needful, by providing ex-gratia compensation to families of COVID victims.<br> <br> </div> <div>The top court's response comes after a batch of petitions sought directions to the state and central governments to provide an ex-gratia compensation of Rs 4 lakh, sighting Section 12 of the DMA.<br> <br> </div> <div>However, the Centre has been reluctant to commit to any compensation for COVID deaths, given the magnitude of the death toll, which is nearly 4 lakh according to official figures.</div> <div> <br> The Supreme Court in its ruling stated that the language used in Section 12 of the law is is very plain and unambiguous. </div> <div><br> </div> <div>So, is the Centre legally obligated to pay compensation for COVID deaths? What arguments has the Centre made against it, and is it financially feasible?<br> <br> <strong>Host and Producer: </strong>Himmat Shaligram</div> <div> <strong>Guest: </strong>Subhash Chandra Garg, former Economic Affairs Secretary and Finance Secretary of India and Karan Tripathi, The Quint's Legal Consultant.</div> <div><br> </div> <div> <strong>Editor:</strong> Shelly Walia</div> <div><br> </div> <div> <strong>Music:</strong> Big Bang Fuzz</div> <div><br> </div> <div><strong>Listen to The Big Story podcast on:</strong></div> <div><br> </div> <div>Apple: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=https%3A%2F%2Fapple.co%2F2AYdLIl&amp;redir_token=G9sQMbbppKv-LEFD29gDyTmPMzt8MTU3MTM4MDU5NkAxNTcxMjk0MTk2&amp;v=xkpX1V6aUFo&amp;event=video_description">https://apple.co/2AYdLIl</a> </div> <div>Saavn: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2F2oix78C&amp;redir_token=G9sQMbbppKv-LEFD29gDyTmPMzt8MTU3MTM4MDU5NkAxNTcxMjk0MTk2&amp;v=xkpX1V6aUFo&amp;event=video_description">http://bit