'Justice & Medicine Cannot Go On Strike': SC Bars Adverse Action Against Doctors For Protesting

The Supreme Court on Thursday resumed hearing the RG Kar Medical Hospital rape and murder case of an on duty lady doctor.

The counsel appearing for AIIMs Doctors in Nagpur, told the court that the protesting doctors are being marked absent

Source : ANI

The Supreme Court on Thursday passed an order saying that no adverse action should be taken by hospital authorities against doctors for protesting against the brutal rape and murder of a lady doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. 

The bench headed by CJI DY Chandrachud urged the doctors to return to work and said that "Justice and medicine cannot go on strike!"

The CJI said that normalcy has to be restored so far as the community of the doctors is concerned, and they have to return back to work. He further added that doctors need to resume work and not just emergency duty. He said that in a hospital like AIIMS, it takes more than a year or two to get one appointment, and even one day of strike by doctors can do grave injustice to a person who had been waiting for his appointment for over a year.

The apex court today resumed hearing the RG Kar Medical hospital and medical college rape and murder case of an on duty lady doctor. At the beginning of the hearing, the counsels appearing for doctors from AIIMS Nagpur and PGI Chandigarh told the top court that hospital authorities are taking coercive actions against protesting doctors.

The bench headed by CJI DY Chandrachud said that let the doctors first resume the work and then the apex court will issue a direction that no coercive actions are taken against the doctors for going on strike.

The counsel appearing for AIIMs Doctors in Nagpur, told the court that the protesting doctors are being marked absent, not being allowed to sit in exams. The counsel urged the court that some lenient view should be taken.

"They are absent, so they will be marked absent. How can we tell the administration to mark something which is not correct? Ask them to first return to work, then we will prevail over the authorities. Nobody will then take action." CJI Chandrachud said.

Counsel then told the apex court that they have returned. At this point another counsel appearing for Doctors from PGI Chandigarh told the court that the doctors from PGI Chandigarh went on rally but completed their duty, yet the hospital is marking leaves on those days.

The CJI then said that let all doctors return to work and then the top court will pass some general order. The Supreme Court reassured the striking doctors that once they resume duties, the top court will prevail upon authorities to not take adverse actions.

The bench asked how will the public administrative structure run if the protesting doctors don't resume work. 

Towards the end of the hearing, the apex court was informed that doctors are ready to resume work but they fear retribution. The apex court then passed the order saying that no adverse action should be taken against the doctors for protesting before the order was passed. But, also asked the doctors to resume work.

Supreme Court on Tuesday heard the suo motu case over the rape and murder of a doctor at the RG Kar Medical College Hospital, Kolkata. The CJI DY Chandrachud led bench said that the case has shocked the conscience of the nation and expressed concern over the victim's pictures and names being circulated on social media. 

"We took suo motu action because this is not just the matter of a particular horrific murder and rape...but it raises systemic issue of safety of doctors across India," CJI said.

The Supreme Court constituted a National Task Force (NTF) to ensure safety of all medical professionals across India. The top court while hearing the case pertaining to the brutal rape and murder of a women doctor observed that medical professional have to face various forms of violence even as they work round the clock.

The Supreme Court further directed the Centre to deploy Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) at the RG Kar Hospital where a woman doctor was raped and murdered.