RG Kar case: SC asks hospitals to regularise doctors' 'unauthorised' absence during protests

The lawyer appearing for the body said the decision to treat the protest period as leave may create trouble for some of the medical PG students.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed hospitals, including AIIMS New Delhi, to regularise the unauthorised absence of doctors who participated in the protests against the rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Hospital, Kolkata.

A bench of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar, however, refused to examine a plea, by the parents’ of the deceased, seeking re-investigation or an additional investigation for now. The parents’ decided to withdraw the plea. The bench gave liberty to the parents’ to amend the prayers.

During the hearing, the counsel for doctors’ body contended that some hospitals had regularised the absence of the doctors but a few others, which included AIIMS Delhi, decided to treat the period as leave of absence.

On August 22, last year, the bench asked the protesting doctors, across the country, to resume work and directed no coercive action would be taken against doctors once they resumed work.

“We deem it appropriate to clarify that if protesting workers had joined work post the Supreme Court order then their absence shall be regularised and not be treated as absence from duty. This is issued in peculiar facts and circumstances of the cases and is not laying down any precedent,” the bench said.

The counsel submitted that if the period of protest is treated as leave, then it may create trouble for some of the medical postgraduate students.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the Centre, said as the case was non-adversarial, the hospitals would abide by the directions issued by the apex court.

“By an earlier order, it was stated that no coercive step would be taken against the protesting doctors for protests till the date of the order. Pursuant to this some of the AIIMS such as Kalyani and Gorakhpur and the PGI Chandigarh have regularised the absence. However, some other institutes have treated the said period as if doctors were on leave," the bench said.

With regard to the parents' plea, Mehta contended before the bench that it will only help the convict. The bench asked the parents’ to be careful in the plea, as there's already a conviction order in the case. Parents’ have contended that an additional probe was required as Sanjoy Roy was not the only accused, and there are others too, who were not arrested. The plea contended that those who harboured, shielded Roy have not been arrested.

The court was hearing a suo-motu case over the rape and murder of a trainee doctor in the Kolkata hospital. On January 20, a Kolkata trial court awarded convict Sanjay Roy "life term imprisonment till death" in the case.