NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Monday expressed concern over fake Covid death certificates being issued by doctors for ex-gratia compensation and observed that it might order a probe into the issue.
A bench of Justices M R Shah and B V Nagarathna also said that there should be some time limit for claims seeking compensation.
“What is worrying is the fake certificate given by doctors... It is a very serious thing”, the bench observed.
The apex court said that there must be some time limit, otherwise, the process will go endlessly.
“It may take away someone’s real opportunity”, the bench said.
At the outset, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that there should be an outer time limit for submitting claims.
The Solicitor General submitted that the top court has ordered that an RT-PCR certificate was not necessary for compensation and the same can be allowed based on a doctor’s certificate.
The bench sought suggestions on the issue and posted the matter for hearing on March 14.
The top court was hearing a batch of pleas filed by Gaurav Bansal, represented by advocate Sumeer Sodhi, seeking ex-gratia assistance to families of Covid victims.