Striking doctors should face action now: HC

The Bombay High Court today came down heavily on the agitating resident doctors of the Maharashtra government hospitals for not resuming duty despite assuring so yesterday and said at this rate the "public will hit" them.
A division bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice G S Kulkarni said if this is the doctors' "attitude," the respective hospital management can initiate action against them and "terminate" their services.
Nearly 4,000 resident doctors have stayed away from work since Monday, demanding enhanced security in wake of several attacks on their colleagues by patients' restive relatives at the government hospitals across the state.

The high court had yesterday directed the doctors to resume work immediately and resolve their issues with the government amicably.
The HC was informed by petitioner Afak Mandaviya's lawyer Datta Mane that the doctors have still not resumed duty.
"Despite assurances if the doctors have not resumed work, we think we made a mistake yesterday by showing them sympathy and appreciating their work," the bench said.

Chief Justice Chellur said, "The doctors are taking undue advantage of us and our sympathy. If you (doctors) keep stretching the matter like this, the public will come and hit you. You are creating this atmosphere."

"Let the hospital management take suitable action against the doctors then. Let them all be terminated," the court said.
The bench has now directed the secretary and the president of the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) to file an affidavit today stating the hospital management is free to take action against the doctors who have still not resumed work.
The MARD had last night appealed to the striking medical practitioners to join duty.
The functioning of the OPDs and general wards in the government and the civic hospitals remains affected due to the strike.