SC gives docs till 5pm to end stir, allows WB govt to take action otherwise

NEW DELHI: Supreme Court on Monday instructed West Bengal govt resident doctors who have been agitating since the Aug 9 RG Kar Hospital incident to resume duties by Tuesday evening or face possible disciplinary action from the state.

"If you resume work by Tuesday 5 pm, no adverse disciplinary action will be taken by govt. However, you cannot say that you won't work. You must return to work and if you do not, then it is open for the govt to initiate disciplinary action against you. Resident doctors cannot be oblivious to the needs of the general community whom they are intended to serve," it said.

The ultimatum was issued by a bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra after senior advocate Kapil Sibal and advocate Astha Sharma submitted a report from the West Bengal health department claiming that 23 patients had died due to non-availability of resident doctors and that six lakh patients were suffering.

Sibal said the 28-day-long strike by an estimated 28,000 resident doctors across the state has resulted in postponement of hundreds of cardiac surgeries and stenting operations. "The healthcare system may collapse if the agitation continues any further," he said. Senior advocates Geeta Luthra and Karuna Nundy, appearing for the doctors, said the medics felt insecure inside the campus as "there are several miscreants inside hospitals" and appealed to the SC to ensure safety and security of doctors.

The bench asked Bengal govt to specify the steps it has taken to instill a sense of security in govt hospitals and said the district collectors and superintendents of police concerned must deliberate with the heads of the hospitals to take appropriate measures in this regard.


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