New Delhi, Jan 29 (UNI) The Supreme Court on Wednesday clarified its earlier order regarding the doctors’ protest against the RG Kar rape-murder incident stating that doctors who resumed duty after August 22, 2024, should not be treated as absent and must be considered on duty.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar was hearing the suo motu case concerning the brutal rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9.
During the hearing, senior counsel Raghenth Basant, representing the AIIMS Resident Doctors Association, informed the Court that while some medical institutions, such as the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) Chandigarh, AIIMS Kalyani, and AIIMS Gorakhpur, have regularized the protest period, others are treating it as “on leave.” This treatment, he argued, could adversely impact doctors preparing for post-graduation studies.
“Many PG students will lose their cut-off for further studies,” Basant emphasized, highlighting that this approach contradicts the Supreme Court’s order dated August 22, 2024.
In August, a bench led by then CJI Justice DY Chandrachud had issued an order protecting doctors from coercive action related to their protests as long as they resumed duties by August 22, 2024.
The Court had previously stated: “An apprehension has been expressed by the doctors that some of them are being proceeded against to protests that happened in the past.
We are expecting that in compliance with the assurance given to the Court, the doctors will join the duties. Let there be no coercive action against doctors after they come back to work after the date of today’s order for any protest that happened before the date of today’s order.”
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Union, submitted that certain institutions, including the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) Pondicherry, had treated the protest period as “on leave.”
The bench clarified that the period of absence during the doctors’ protest should be regularized and not treated as leave. The recorded order read: “In our opinion, the intent behind the order passed on August 22, 2024, was that the aforesaid period would be regularized and no coercive steps would be taken.”
The Court further stated, “We deem it appropriate to clarify that the period of absence in case the protesting doctors have joined after the order dated August 22, 2024, will be regularized and not treated as absence from duty. This direction is issued in peculiar facts and circumstances and shall not be read as laying down a precedent.”
On January 20, a sessions court in Kolkata’s Sealdah sentenced prime accused Sanjoy Roy to life imprisonment in the RG Kar rape and murder case. Roy was convicted on January 18 under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 64 (rape), 66 (causing injury resulting in the death of the rape victim), and 103(1) (murder).
Roy was accused of brutally raping and murdering a trainee doctor after her night shift at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
The Supreme Court also noted that the National Task Force (NTF), constituted to recommend enhanced security measures for health professionals, had submitted its report. The Court directed States and Union Territories to respond to the NTF recommendations and requested the NTF to submit its final report within 12 weeks.
The Court in its clarifications and directions said that the aim to protect the professional future of protesting doctors while ensuring justice for the victim of the RG Kar incident and the safety of healthcare professionals across the country.