The Bombay High Court on Monday said compensation for the family members of COVID-19 victims was a matter of right and they must not be deprived of it.
A bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice MS Karnik directed the Maharashtra government to take instructions on why claims for compensation filed through post or physically were being denied or delayed.
It was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by a local organisation, Prameya Welfare Foundation, seeking among other things, a direction to the state government to not insist that citizens apply for such compensation online only, and give compensation to those who are applying physically or by post.
The petitioner's counsel Sumedha Rao told High Court many of those submitting claims were slum dwellers or poor people who were not adept at filing and annexing documents online.
The BMC counsel told High Court the civic body had, so far, received 34,000 applications seeking compensation, of which 16,884 applications had been forwarded to the disaster management department for approval and payment.
The rest had some issues such as incomplete addresses, missing information etc, while those applications that had come from areas outside BMC jurisdiction were being forwarded to relevant authorities.
Ms Rao, however, told High Court the applicants were not being given reasons for rejection of their applications nor were they being informed of the status of their applications.
"These are poor people who find the online system difficult since they have to upload so many annexures. They have applied through post, physically but have got no response, no reasons," Ms Rao said.
The state's counsel Poornima Kantharia, however, told High Court the government had already paid compensation to several claimants who had applied through its online portal, which was created so that one could make a claim for compensation online and the money could be transferred directly into their bank accounts.
The High Court then asked the state government why it was insisting on online applications, and reminded it that the Supreme Court had recently directed all state and Central authorities to reach out to the family members of COVID-19 victims and pay compensation.
"The spirit of the SC order is that the state must reach kin of those who died of COVID-19. Why must you be so technical that they have to apply online only? The web portal is for the state government's convenience. Getting compensation is their (the kin of victims) right. Why must they be deprived? Reach out to them," the High Court bench said.
After granting time to Kantharia to get instructions from the state, the High Court posted the matter to Thursday for further hearing
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
7 Killed, 3 Injured As Taxi Falls Into Roadside Well In Maharashtra: Report Maharashtra Government Declares Job Training And Stipend Scheme 12 Maoists Killed In 6-Hour Encounter In Maharashtra's Gadchiroli World's Largest Isolated Tribe Makes Rare Appearance In New Footage Barack Obama Wants Joe Biden To Pull Out Of US Presidential Race: Report 32 Dead In Bangladesh Unrest, Protesters Set Fire To State TV Headquarters Comedy Legend Bob Newhart Dead At 94: Publicist Israeli Strike Kills Field Commander In Elite Hezbollah Unit: Report Delhi-San Francisco Air India Flight Diverted To Russia After Engine Glitch Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.