Supreme Court orders provision of essentials to elderly during Covid-19 pandemic

The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered all the states to ensure all elderly people who are eligible for pension should be paid the amount regularly, along with necessary medicines, masks, sanitisers, and other essential goods during the Covid-19 pandemic.

A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and R Subhash Reddy directed that when any individual request was made, it should be attended to by the administration with all promptness.

"The care givers of those old age homes should be provided personal protection and appropriate sanitisation should also be undertaken in the old age homes," the bench said.

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The court also directed that elderly people should be given priority in the admission in the government hospital looking to their vulnerability to Covid-19.

"In event of any complaint made by the elderly people, the hospital administration concerned shall take immediate steps to remedy their grievances," it ordered.

The court passed its directions on an application filed by former Union Law Minister and senior advocate Ashwani Kumar, who contended that the older people, living alone, were the worst sufferers in Covid-19 crisis, as they were not able to get medicines, masks, sanitisers and other essential goods. The care givers of these people were untrained and were also not equipped with personal protection equipment.

Union government's counsel submitted that the necessary steps have been taken to give protection to the older people in this pandemic.