New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday (January 29) directed hospital authorities, including AIIMS, to regularise the absence of protesting doctors, who were protesting in the wake of rape and murder of an on-duty woman doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, if they had joined their duties post the apex court order.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar directed this while hearing a suo motu case in which the apex court had taken cognisance of the rape and murder of the on-duty woman doctor at the hospital on August 9 last year.
Apex court earlier ordered no coercive action against protesting doctors
The top court while hearing the matter in August last year had appealed the protesting doctors to join duties and directed authorities not to take any coercive action against protesting doctors if they joined their duties after its order.
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What did the counsel for resident doctors association submit?
Counsel representing the resident doctors association submitted before the bench the apex court order had said no coercive action against doctors, however, some of the hospitals have not taken a decision on this and have treated the said period as leave.
What did the apex court say?
The bench noted that some AIIMS hospitals, such as Kalyani and Gorakhpur and PGI Chandigarh have regularised the absence, however, some have treated them as if the protesting doctors were on leave.
“By an earlier order (Supreme Court), it was stated that no coercive step would be taken against the protesting doctors for protests till the date of the order. Pursuant to this, some of the AIIMS such as Kalyani and Gorakhpur and PGI Chandigarh has regularised the absence. However some other institutes have treated the said period as if doctors were on leave. We deem it appropriate to clarify that if protesting workers had joined work post the Supreme Court order, their absence shall be regularised and not be treated as absence from duty,” the bench said.
The bench, however, clarified that this order is being issued in peculiar facts and circumstances of the case and it is not laying down any precedent.
A Sealdah trial court recently awarded convict Sanjay Roy life imprisonment until death for rape and murder of the on-duty woman doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9 last year.
