Join work or face action: Bombay HC to protesting doctors
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday slammed over 4,500 resident doctors in Maharashtra who had gone on mass leave since March 20 and asked them to join work or face action by the management. The HC was hearing a PIL filed against the strike wherein the advocate representing the petitioners claimed 58 people have died in Maharashtra since Monday.
Bombay High Court today came down heavily on over 4,500 resident doctors of Maharashtra who had gone on mass leave since March 20. The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed against the strike due to which many patients are not receiving proper treatment.Advocate Datta Mane, representing the petitioners, told the court that since Monday morning 58 people have died in the state. Although Chief Justice Chellur did not believe this situation was due to the strike but the government pleader, appearing for the state government, told the court that the health care in civic and state-run hospitals was paralysed due to 60 per cent of its workforce not reporting to work.Advocate Prashant Pophale appearing for the Maharashtra Association for Resident Doctors (MARD) pointed out that there have been three incidents wherein patients' relatives have beaten up doctors in Dhule, Mumbai (Sion Hospital) and Nashik in the last few days.WHY THE PUBLIC ANARCHY, ASKS CHIEF JUSTICE CHELLUR Chief Justice Chellur asked, "Why the public anarchy? It's madness," before asking the state pleader to explain the reason for the such action taken by the patients' relatives. She added, "I don't say doctors don't commit mistakes but, there are complications due to which patients lose their life. Every case cannot be due to negligence. And even if there is negligence there are redressal forums for it."Pophale pointed out to the court that the doctors are not on strike but only on mass leave and as an association, they have been telling the doctors not to do so. He, however, added that the state has done little to protect the doctors. But Chief Justice Chellur was of the opinion that the resident doctors cannot put the public at large in trouble. "If you (resident doctors) think being a doctor you can behave like a factory worker, then you are unfit to serve as a doctor. It's a shame. How can you (resident doctors) say first provide security only then we will work?" asked Chief Justice Chellur.NEXT HEARING TOMORROWWith this, the Bombay High Court ordered the striking resident doctors to join work or face action by the management. It said that the management is free to initiate action and contempt proceedings against the striking doctors. The next hearing of the case is on March 22.After the Bombay High Court issued the order, Naresh Kabra, a resident doctor at Sion Hospital present at the hearing, said, "We are not super humans either. Patients verbally abuse us almost every day but we don't say anything. It's only when we are physically beaten up that we have protested. Why cannot the state protect us?" Kabra pointed out that after subsequent court orders, 58 CCTV cameras were installed at Sion Hospital but the audit report shows that only eight are functional.