[COVID19] Delhi High Court issues notice in minor siblings' plea seeking compensation for father's death due to oxygen shortage

The Delhi High Court on Friday issued notice to Central and Delhi governments on a plea seeking compensation and implementation of beneficiary schemes for families with minor children who lost their primary breadwinners to oxygen shortage during the second wave of COVID-19 [Yasmin Kataria & Anr. vs. Govt. of NCT of Delhi & Ors.]

Notice was also issued to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) by a Bench of Justice Amit Bansal.

The petition was filed by minor children studying in second and seventh grade, whose father passed away due to oxygen shortage in Delhi's Jaipur Golden Hospital in April this year.

The petition, filed through the guardian of the two young children, said that while both Central and Delhi governments announced various schemes to grant compensation to families who had lost their sole earning members or to children who had lost their parents or to family of persons who died from oxygen shortage, none of these have actually been implemented till date.

The petition also highlighted various such schemes like Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's announcement to provide 50,000 rupees and PM Cares Relief for Orphaned Children in COVID-19.

The petitioners mentioned that while many such announcements and provisions had been made on paper, the on-ground reality was quite different and awaiting fruition.

The petitioners argued that losing the main breadwinner of the family can have hazardous consequences on the lives and education of the children left behind, warranting some form of monetary relief .

The petition filed through Advocates Bharat Malhotra and Siddhant Sethi, further submitted that the father of the petitioners had been one of the victims of the tragedy that had struck Jaipur Golden Hospital on the intervening nights of June 23-24, 2021, wherein 21 COVID-19 patients had lost their lives due to a shortage of oxygen.

It was also said that High Court had issued notice in another petition seeking a CBI probe and compensation for the victims of the same tragedy.

The matter will be taken up next on July 29, 2021.