HC issues notices to Madhya Pradesh govt, doctors on August 17 strike over Kolkata horror – ET HealthWorld

Jabalpur: The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Friday issued notices to the state government and others seeking their reply in 24 hours on the strike called by doctors on August 17 to protest against the alleged rape and murder of a woman medic at a Kolkata hospital and vandalisation of the health facility.

A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Vinay Saraf issued notices to the dean of Bhopal-based Gandhi Medical College (GMC), the Junior Doctors Association and others while hearing a petition filed by Anshul Tiwari, a resident of Narsinghpur district, challenging the strike.

The notices to the Madhya Pradesh government and dean of the state-run GMC were accepted by the additional advocate general who appeared for them in the HC. The court ordered that the notice to the Junior Doctors Association be sent by all possible modes, including WhatsApp and e-mail. The court fixed the next date of hearing on Saturday (August 17).

Last year, the High Court had asked associations representing doctors that they shall not go on a strike, even a token one, in Madhya Pradesh without seeking its permission. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has declared a nationwide withdrawal of non-emergency health services for 24 hours beginning at 6 am on August 17 to protest against the rape and murder of the woman doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, which was vandalised in the early hours of August 15, nearly a week after the horrific incident.

All essential services will be maintained and casualties will be manned, the IMA said in a statement in New Delhi. The routine OPDs will not function and elective surgeries will not be conducted. The withdrawal is across all the sectors wherever modern medicine doctors are providing service, the apex body of doctors said.

The IMA also called for meticulous and professional investigation of the horrific crime in Kolkata in a specific time-frame and rendering of justice besides identifying those involved in the vandalism of the hospital premises and awarding exemplary punishment.

• Published On Aug 17, 2024 at 05:16 PM IST

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