During the suo motu hearing on the RG Kar Hospital murder-rape case, the Supreme Court reiterated its appeal to the protesting doctors to resume their duties. On August 22, the Court assured that it would issue an order urging authorities not to take any punitive measures against the doctors for participating in the protests.
At the start of the hearing, a counsel representing the resident doctors of AIIMS Nagpur reported that the protesting doctors had been marked absent and were being barred from participating in exams.
Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud urged the protesting doctors to return to work, emphasizing that their absence is impacting those in need of public health services.
“Let everyone return to work,” CJI Chandrachud stated. “We will issue a general order assuring that authorities will not take adverse actions against doctors once they resume their duties. How will the public health system function if they do not come back to work?”
On the previous hearing date, August 20, the Court had called on the protesting doctors to return to their duties.
“We urge all doctors currently abstaining from work across the country to resume their duties as soon as possible. Their absence particularly affects those segments of society that rely heavily on medical care for everyday services. Doctors and medical professionals can be assured that the Supreme Court of India is giving their concerns the highest priority,” the Court stated in its order on August 20.
Resident Doctors Seek Inclusion in the NTF
Today, Senior Advocates Vijay Hansaria, representing the Delhi Medical Association, and Devadatt Kamat, representing a group of doctors, requested the Court to include representatives of resident doctors in the National Task Force (NTF). In response, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud noted that including representatives from all associations could make the NTF unmanageable but assured that the NTF would consider input from all stakeholders.
During the hearing, the CJI expressed concerns about the grueling work schedules of resident doctors.
“We are deeply troubled by the inhuman working hours of resident doctors across the country. Some work 36-hour shifts, which is unacceptable. The committee appointed should address the need to streamline doctors’ on-duty hours. Shifts of 36 or 48 hours are simply inhumane,” the CJI stated.
The hearing is ongoing before the bench consisting of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra. The bench, after reviewing the case records, highlighted several lapses by the Kolkata police. Live updates are available here.
