Resident doctors of Delhi AIIMS called off their strike on Thursday after the Supreme Court’s appeal. The doctors were on strike for the last 11 days in protest against the rape and murder of a female doctor in Kolkata. Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court had asked the protesting doctors to resume work and assured them that no action would be taken against them after returning to work, and the court also directed the governments to ensure their safety.
AIIMS Resident Doctors Association informed about this by posting on ‘X’. They wrote, ‘We are returning to work after the appeal and assurance of the Supreme Court and its intervention in connection with the RG Kar (hospital) incident and the safety of doctors. We appreciate the action of the court and call for compliance with its instructions. Taking care of patients remains our top priority.’
During the hearing on Thursday, a bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Mishra took suo motu cognizance of the incident and heard the arguments of all the concerned parties in detail. Considering the problems of patients in hospitals across the country after the unfortunate incident on August 9, Justice Chandrachud made an emotional appeal to the doctors on behalf of the bench, “Justice and medicine cannot go on strike. Can we now go and sit outside the Supreme Court?”
“The doctors have expressed apprehension that some of them are being prosecuted for their involvement in the protests that took place in the past. We have been assured that the doctors will resume work…and no punitive action will be taken against the doctors who resume work after today’s (August 22, 2024) order,” the bench said in its order.
Earlier on August 12, the Doctors Association had started a nationwide protest due to which OPD (Outpatient Department) services came to a halt, although emergency services continued to run.