If doctors are not on duty, they will be marked absent, says SC

New Delhi: Finding doctors protesting R G Kar hospital rape-murder incident not heeding to its appeal to resume duties, the SC on Thursday protected them against any coercive action for absenting from duty but refused to direct authorities to give them full attendance for the 11-day period when they did not report to the hospitals.

Resident doctors from across the country, including AIIMS Delhi and other reputed govt hospitals, through counsel complained to a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra that authorities are refusing to grant them attendance for the protest-linked absence and claimed that some are even not allowing them to sit for the examinations.

The bench said, "On Aug 20 we assured that the resident doctors' concern is receiving the highest attention from the Supreme Court. We constituted a national task force to find solutions to your problems. If a patient misses one date due to absence of a doctor in hospitals like AIIMS, he gets the next slot after two years. Who suffers, it is the poor patients."

"If they (resident doctors) are not on duty, they will be marked absent. The law will take its course. Ask them to return to duty and we will ensure that no adverse action is taken against them," the bench said. It also assured the resident doctors that their representatives would be heard by the National Task Force while formulating the national action plan for the safety of doctors.