India, Sept. 5 -- The high court has directed the Delhi government to pay Rs.1 crore as ex gratia compensation within eight weeks to the widow of a school principal who died after contracting Covid-19 while overseeing vaccination work at his institution.

A bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyay and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela on Thursday emphasised that the government's compensation policy was a welfare-oriented measure intended to benefit those who lost their lives performing essential services during the pandemic.

The widow challenged a single judge's November 2024 ruling disentitling her from the compensation, saying her husband was not on Covid duty in April 2021. She sought ex gratia compensation under the Delhi government's May 2020 pol...