HC SEEKS CENTRE, TN REPLIES ON PROPER RECORD OF COVID DEATHS

CHENNAI: The Madras high court said on Friday there are grievances across the country that all Covid deaths may not have been appropriately recorded, and sought responses from the Union and Tamil Nadu governments on the matter.

The HC said accurate recording was necessary for families to avail of relief that state and central governments offered for Covid deaths, and also to help in studies dealing with the pandemic.

A bench of chief justice Sanjib Banerjee and justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy made the observations on a public interest litigation that sought state officials be directed to implement an effective policy to report the cause of death correctly. That should be in accordance with the law, ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) guidelines, and other relevant parameters to enable people to benefit from government schemes, the plea added.

“All over the country, there are grievances that all the deaths that have been caused by the pandemic may not have been appropriately recorded... As far as this state is concerned, there are reports in some quarters that unless a positive test report was issued in respect of the patient, the subsequent death would not be recorded as a Covid death,” the court said, acknowledging that the petition had raised an important point.

“It would also be fit and proper to require death certificates already issued to be revised, if necessary; if only not to deny the relief due to the family of the deceased in terms of the several schemes announced by the central and the state governments,” the bench observed.

The court will address the matter on June 28, by when the state has to submit a response.