New Delhi: Supreme Court Urges Striking Doctors in West Bengal to Return, Warns of Disciplinary Action

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday asked striking doctors in West Bengal to return to work by 5 pm Tuesday or face possible disciplinary action. The court's directive comes on a day the government expressed readiness to end the impasse over the horrific rape and murder of a first-year trainee lady doctor in RG Kar Hospital, Kolkata.

Expressing dissatisfaction over the handling of the case by the West Bengal government so far, the three-judge bench presided over by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud pointed out the delay of 14 hours in filing the FIR along with the omission of a key autopsy document, namely the challan of the body. "How was the post-mortem carried out in the absence of a formal request?" asked the Chief Justice incredulously.

The counsel, appearing for CBI, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, explained the importance of the missing challan and how, in the absence of the same, the post-mortem procedure would not be valid. He also questioned why forensic evidence had been tampered with, such as blood samples not being preserved and incomplete CCTV footage that could reveal who entered the hospital after the accused left.

Meanwhile, as an investigation was in full swing, the Supreme Court expressed its concern over the strike by doctors persisting. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the West Bengal government, told the court that 23 patients died because of the protest. The doctors, on their part, told the bench that senior physicians were attending to the patients, but the Chief Justice said, "Doctors must come back to work. They cannot say others are working, we won't."

The court also referred to the issues being faced with CISF, entrusted for RG Kar Medical College guard duty. The Centre apprised the court that accommodation and security arrangements for CISF personnel, specially women officers, was proving a challenge. The bench ordered the West Bengal government and the CISF officials to work out the logistics and sort it out by day's end.

The Supreme Court, meanwhile, has ordered the CBI to file a fresh status report for September 17 as investigations continue. Also, doctors are likely to return to work in order not to cause further disruptions to West Bengal's healthcare system.

"We want doctors back in service. Protests cannot come at the cost of public safety," Chief Justice Chandrachud said, leaving little room for further delay.

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