The petitioners told the court that “while the pandemic has left collective loss and trauma in its wake”, they have found themselves at a “greater disadvantage than others losing the sole breadwinner”.
The Delhi High Court has issued notice in a writ petition filed by two minors, whose father died at Jaipur Golden Hospital in April allegedly due to shortage of oxygen, seeking expeditious implementation of compensation schemes to family members whose sole breadwinner succumbed to Covid-19.
The petition was filed by a class 7 and class 2 student, represented through their mother.
Justice Amit Bansal issued notice to the Delhi and Central governments, Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) and The National Commission for Protection of Children Rights (NCPCR) and will hear the matter on July 29.
The petition, moved by their lawyers, Bharat Malhotra and Siddhant Sethi, stated that the respondents “floated various compensation schemes to grant compensation to the families who lost their sole earner, or for the benefit of small children who lost their parents, and to family of persons who died due to Covid-19 or due to lack of oxygen” and till date, the same have not been implemented.
The petitioners told the court that “while the pandemic has left collective loss and trauma in its wake”, they have found themselves at a “greater disadvantage than others losing the sole breadwinner”.
“While the quotable saying goes money does not solve everything, having it certainly makes dealing with losses easier,” the petition read.
The two petitioners lost their father on April 24 and their grandmother on April 25. For now, their relatives, alongside many NGOS and other people, have been helping them out, however, the “traction has died down”.
Their mother, on the other hand has to also take care of her father-in-law and is finding it difficult to manage their expenses and was unable to even pay for her legal fees. Following this, the lawyers took up the present matter pro-bono.
The petitioners told the court that “due to inaction and failure of Jaipur Golden hospital, a large number of children, including the petitioners, have either become orphans or lost their sole earning member and there is no one to take care of them as during the lockdown as everyone is in finance crises”.
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