Centre should ensure insurance claims of even private doctors who died during COVID are settled: SC

“Society will not forgive us if we don't take care of our doctors and don't stand for them…,” Justice P S Narasimha, presiding over a two-judge bench, remarked.

Underlining the need to support doctors who put themselves on the line during COVID-19, the Supreme Court Tuesday said the Centre should ensure that insurance claims of doctors, even if they worked in private hospitals, who lost their lives during the pandemic are duly settled.

“Society will not forgive us if we don’t take care of our doctors and don’t stand for them…,” Justice P S Narasimha, presiding over a two-judge bench, remarked.

The bench, also comprising Justice R Mahadevan, was considering a plea which raised the issue of eligibility of private doctors under the government’s insurance scheme.

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“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 sitting idle is not correct,” Justice Narasimha told Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati who appeared for the centre.

“We will not go into individual claims. We will just lay down the principles,” he said.

Justice Narasimha said what will have to be established is that the doctor kept his clinic open during the period and offered medical services, and that, in the process, he contracted COVID-19 and lost his life.

“That the said doctor volunteered to offer his medical services by keeping his clinic or hospital open for patients to consult him must be proved by way of some credible evidence…There must also be proof about the fact that the doctor has passed away because of being infected by COVID. Once these two questions are satisfied, it is not for us to question as to whether the doctor has opened his clinic or offered his services for COVID alone,” he pointed out.

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The court was hearing an appeal against a Bombay High Court judgment, which stated that private doctors were not eligible for such government schemes except in cases where their services were requisitioned by the government.

Meanwhile, reserving its judgment, the top court asked the Centre if there are similar or parallel schemes available apart from the Pradhan Mantri Insurance Scheme and, if so, to provide the details thereof.

“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 SC said.