‘Doctors Must Return to Work’, Says SC in Trainee Doctor Rape and Murder Case in WB

The Supreme Court directed the West Bengal state police to ensure that necessary steps are taken for the safety of all doctors including provisions like separate duty rooms and CCTV cameras to enable doctors to resume work in the hospitals. The court said if doctors return to work, then no adverse action will be taken against them.

New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Monday said doctors, who are abstaining from duties as part of protests over the rape-murder at the RG Kar Medical College Hospital, in West Bengal must resume their duties immediately.

A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and comprising justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said if doctors’ return to work by 5 PM tomorrow, then in that case no adverse action will be taken against them.

Though CJI assured that no adverse action or punitive transfers of the doctors would take place, he also made it clear that if doctors' did not return to work, it was up to the state's discretion to punish them.

The apex court directed the state police to ensure that necessary steps are taken to ensure safety of all doctors, which included provisions for separate duty rooms, toilet facilities, installation of CCTV cameras, so that doctors’ can resume work in the hospitals.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing West Bengal, assured the court that no punitive action will be taken against the doctors who resume their duties. Sibal emphasized that due to absence of doctors people are suffering and if they do not resume work it will lead to the collapse of the health care system and already several Lakhs have been denied treatments.

Sibal said resident doctors are not attending OPDs, there is no angiography for over several hundred patients and now protests are all over the state. He said no route or permissions sought from police and “so, what do we do?"

The bench said if doctors do not resume work, then the court cannot stop the government from taking disciplinary action and stressed that young doctors must now resume work, and added, “we know what is happening on the ground”.

The CJI said the doctors’ are in a system to render service, and the district collector and superintendent of police will ensure safety, while asking the doctors’ to return to work.

The bench said if doctors’ do not resume their duties then they should not hold anyone responsible for disciplinary action against you. “You (the junior doctors') cannot say seniors are working, so we will not," said the bench.

The apex court was hearing the suo moto case in relation with the rape and alleged murder of trainee doctors at RG Kar Medical College Hospital.

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