The Supreme Court of India has delivered a landmark judgment ensuring that no family of a doctor who died fighting COVID-19 is left without support. In a ruling on December 11, 2025, the Court held that the families of doctors (including private practitioners) who lost their lives while performing COVID-19 duties are entitled to the Central Government’s ₹50 lakh insurance benefit under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP) – Insurance Scheme for Health Workers Fighting COVID-19tribuneindia.com. This means even those doctors who were not formally requisitioned by government orders during the pandemic are now covered – a significant expansion of the scheme’s scope that brings relief to many bereaved families. The decision, rendered by a bench of Justices P. S. Narasimha and R. Mahadevan, set aside a Bombay High Court judgment that had earlier excluded private doctors from the schemetribuneindia.com. It is both a legal victory and a moral acknowledgement of the sacrifice of India’s “Covid warriors.”
