Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Dec 11: The Supreme Court on Thursday held that families of private doctors and health professionals who died while serving during the Covid-19 pandemic cannot be denied coverage under the Centre’s Rs 50 lakh insurance scheme, ruling that the absence of formal requisition orders cannot be used to exclude them.

A Bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and R. Mahadevan delivered the judgment while hearing an appeal filed by the widow of Dr. B.S. Surgade, a private practitioner who continued treating patients during the lockdown and died of Covid-19 in June 2020. The Bombay High Court had earlier rejected her plea on the ground that his services were not officially “requisitioned” for Covid duty under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY)

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