'Compensation is not a reward in case of death due to Covid', know why Bombay High Court said this

The Bombay High Court has said that compensation is not a reward in cases of death due to Corona. Making this comment, the High Court rejected the petition of a widow. The woman's husband had died during the Corona epidemic. The woman's husband was a hand pump helper and the woman was demanding compensation from the government for her husband's death.

Kanchan Hamshette, a resident of Nanded district of Maharashtra, had filed a petition in the High Court demanding compensation for her husband's death. The woman said in the petition that her husband died in April 2021 and he was doing work falling under essential services. The woman claimed that her husband was deployed by the state government itself, but he got infected with Corona and died. The woman demanded from the High Court that the court should order the state government to consider her demand for compensation.

The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court rejected the petition. The division bench of Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice RM Joshi said that the Maharashtra government was not wrong in rejecting the petition of the woman seeking compensation of Rs 50 lakh. The court said that there is no debate that such cases should be dealt with sensitivity, but on the other hand, it should also be kept in mind that for those who are not entitled to get Rs 50 lakh as compensation, this amount cannot be given to them as a reward. If such cases are dealt with carelessly, then the ineligible people will also get compensation of Rs 50 lakh from the taxpayers' money.

In fact, the Maharashtra government had announced that employees performing essential duties would receive accident insurance worth Rs 50 lakh during the coronavirus. Only individuals participating in active duty, such as surveying, tracing, tracking, testing, treatment, etc., were eligible for this accident insurance during Corona.