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The society will not forgive the judiciary if it doesn’t take care of doctors and stand for them, the Supreme Court said while reserving its judgment on a plea against non-inclusion of doctors and health workers who lost their lives battling Covid-19 at private clinics, dispensaries and non-recognised hospitals in insurance policies.
According to media reports, A bench comprising Justices P S Narasimha and R Mahadevan said the government must ensure that insurance companies settle the valid claims, and added that the assumption that private doctors were working for profit making was not correct.
“Society will not forgive us if we don’t take care of our doctors and don’t stand for them…
“You should compel the insurance company to pay if according to you the condition is met that they were on Covid response and they died because of COVID. Merely because they were not in government duty, the assumption that they were making profits and then they were sitting is not correct,” the bench observed orally.
The top court directed the Centre to provide relevant data and information regarding other similar or parallel schemes available apart from the Pradhan Mantri Insurance Scheme.
“Give the data to us and some information about other parallel schemes that are available apart from the Pradhan Mantri scheme. We will lay down the principle and on that basis claims can be made to the insurance company. It is for the insurance company to consider and pass orders on the basis of our judgment,” the bench observed.
