JOIN USSC feels reluctant to issue pan-India orders for security to doctors
The Supreme Court on Monday expressed its reluctance to issue directions to the government to provide security to doctors working in private and public sector hospitals and establishments across the country.
"How is the government to provide security in private centres (hospitals), they must make their own security. It is not a threat perception from some terrorist organisation. Should judiciary get into all this," a bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Abhay S Oka asked senior advocate Vijay Hansaria, appearing for the Delhi Medical Association.
The court was hearing a plea by the Delhi Medical Association and others to ensure security for the doctors, who faced assault by patients' relatives.
"Unfortunately, these things do occur, but is it really for us to lay down security norms? Whenever incidents happen, it is due to some sort of lack of security," the bench added.
Hansaria contended there were statutes by States but those don't take preventive any measure.
The court, however, sought to know the data to suggest a lack of security.
The counsel said the plea had cited a number of incidents.
The bench said but those are illustrations only.
The court asked the counsel if he has made any representation to the government authorities with regard to their plea.
The counsel, on this, asked the court to defer the hearing to show representations made to the government on behalf of the petitioners seeking protection for healthcare professionals.
The Delhi Medical Association sought directions to the Centre and other authorities to prevent frequent attacks on the medical fraternity and their establishment by taking adequate security measures and declaring hospitals and nursing homes as protected zones.
In the PIL filed through Sneha Kalita, the DMA and its Assam President Dr Satyajit Borah, sought framing of guidelines to have a requisite preventive and security system in place to have a safe working environment for the healthcare professionals and other staff to prevent any assault, violence or mob lynching against them by patients relatives or friends.
The petition also sought an order for formulating a mechanism to ensure speedy trials in assault cases against medical service professionals.
Notably, out of 28 States and eight Union territories, only 23 States and two Union Territories have their own legislations for the medical healthcare professionals and personnel against any violence with a maximum period of three years imprisonment. The law in Arunachal Pradesh, however, prescribed maximum imprisonment upto 10 years and with a fine which may extend to five lakhs for such violence, it said.