Shivangi Prakash-
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court said that orphan welfare schemes, such as the one launched under the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund), should cover all children who become orphans during COVID-19, not simply those orphaned as a result of COVID.
The PM CARES scheme, according to the Centre’s counsel, includes children who have lost both parents, the lone surviving parent, the legal guardian, and the adoptive parent.
However, a panel of Justices L Nageswara Rao and Aniruddha Bose pointed out that the scheme, which provides orphans with a sum of Rs 10 lakh by the time they turn 23, only applies to children who become orphans as a result of losing their parents during the COVID era.
The Court noted that the children who became orphans as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 are the focus of its Suo-moto case.
“The order that we passed covers all children who became orphans during this period and not just due to deaths due to COVID”, Justice Nagaeswara Rao said
“This needs to be clarified by Union, because we are looking for information on the scheme. Here, this 10 lakh support announced may only be for children whose parents died due to Covid. But I think it should also apply to other orphans from this period”, Justice Rao added.
Later in the hearing, the Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati told the Bench that the PM CARES Funds assistance scheme is for children who have become orphans as a result of COVID in its current form.
The Bench stated that it was not requesting that the PM CARES plan be extended to all orphans who became orphaned as a result of the pandemic.
“What we are thinking is to take care of all children who have been orphaned whether Covid or not Covid. We cannot restrict the orders passed to only orphans who lost both parents to Covid 19”, Justice Rao said.
The Court also noted that because India is a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Government is obligated to care for orphans.
The lawyer for the Central Government agreed to seek clarification on this subject by requesting instructions from the appropriate authorities. The Bench had also requested information from the Centre about the benefits announced under the PM CARES Fund for orphans.
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