The Supreme Court continued hearing the suo moto cognisance case it had taken up of the female doctor who was found raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, West Bengal. The hearing continued today, September 9.
One of the topics of discussion was if doctors had returned to work and if they feel safe enough to do so.
While Senior Advocate Karuna Nundy pointed out that over 25,000 doctors are back to work and feel unsafe, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the West Bengal Government, said that they are not back.
Sibal also pointed out that 23 individuals have died because of the protests and six lakh individuals have been denied treatment.
It was pointed out that the junior doctors in Kolkata are not on duty because they are being issued threats.
"If the doctors resume work immediately, no adverse action will be taken against them. If they do not resume work then we cannot restrain the state government from taking action," stated the Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, who was hearing the case, as per a tweet by Supreme Court Observer.
The CJI noted the grievance filed by the West Bengal Government due to the absenteeism of doctors and how the healthcare system is suffering due to this.
"To create confidence in minds of the doctors. In order to ensure this, all the district collectors and police should take stock of the situation and ensure that necessary conditions are created for ensuring the safety and security of the doctors," he said, as per the Supreme Court Observer tweet.
The bench ordered the installation of CCTV cameras and separate duty rooms and toilet facilities for male and female personnel.
West Bengal has until September 10, 5 pm to ensure that all measures are in place so that the doctors can return to work.
It was assured that no punitive actions would be taken against doctors who return to work in West Bengal.
