The Supreme Court on Monday warned doctors at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital to end their strike by 5 pm on Tuesday or face disciplinary action, Bar and Bench reported.
The doctors have been protesting the rape and murder of their 31-year-old colleague at the state-run medical facility in August.
A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, assured the doctors that no disciplinary action would be taken against them if they resumed their duties by Tuesday.
“All complaints on safety and security shall be promptly attended to,” the bench said. “However, if there is continuous abstaining from work then disciplinary action can be taken against them [by the state government] and they cannot be oblivious to the general concerns of the community whom they are intended to serve.”
The court also said the West Bengal government should take steps to restore the confidence of medical professionals by addressing concerns about their safety and security.
District collectors and superintendents of police must ensure that “necessary conditions are created for ensuring safety and security of doctors of government medical colleges and hospitals, which include creation of restrooms for male and female doctors, installation of CCTVs”, the court said.
In an affidavit filed before the Supreme Court, the West Bengal Police said that funds have been sanctioned by the state government for installation of additional security cameras in hospitals. “This shall be continuously monitored by district collectors along with Superintendent of Police,” the police said.
The Supreme Court’s ultimatum to the protesting doctors came after the West Bengal government said that their agitation had led to a crisis in the state’s healthcare system.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the state government, informed the court that the protests had spread widely across the state and claimed that the participants were allegedly involved in violence and holding demonstrations without permission from the authorities.
He said that about 23 persons had died and six lakh individuals had been unable to receive medical treatment as a result.
The court responded that the protests must not take place at the expense of the doctors’ professional duties.
“We have given two days,” Chandrachud said. “The young doctors must now return and resume work. We know what is happening on the ground. First return to work.”
The court had taken suo motu cognisance of the rape and murder case after the incident sparked widespread protests across the country.
14-hour delay in registering FIR, court notes
The court also noted that there was a delay of at least 14 hours in registering the first information report relating to the rape and murder of the trainee doctor in August, The Indian Express reported.
Chandrachud made the observation as the bench read through the Central Bureau of Investigation’s status report in the case.
The central agency informed the court that it had decided to resend the samples collected from the crime scene to All India Institute of Medical Sciences and the Central Forensic Sciences Labs.
The bench asked whether the state government had provided the Central Bureau of Investigation with the complete security camera footage between 8.45 pm and 11.45 pm on August 9, when the incident took place.
Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta responded that the central agency had received only four video clips, totalling 27 minutes in duration.
The court also ordered the photographs of the medic’s body to be immediately taken down from social media and electronic media to protect her dignity and privacy, the newspaper reported.
The bench asked the Central Bureau of Investigation to file a fresh status report and listed the next hearing on September 18.
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