Submit details of steps taken on the attack on doctor: Gauhati High Court

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Gauhati High Court asked the State Government to submit a detailed report within two weeks on measures it has taken or will take in the future to check attacks on doctors on duty.

Senior Supreme Court advocate Sneha Kalita filed a PIL in the Gauhati High Court on the attack on Dr Seuj Kumar Senapati when he was on duty at Udali Model Hospital in the Hojai district. The PIL will be heard next on July 14, 2021.

Hearing the PIL on Monday, a Division Bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice Manash Ranjan Pathak asked the State Government to submit a detailed report on the attack on the doctor within two weeks.

In her PIL, Advocate Sneha Kalita expressed concern over the attack on the doctor. She also appealed to the High Court to ensure that the State Government takes suitable measures to prevent such incidents to recur in future.

The Division Bench said, "The progress made in the case still now may be placed before this Court within two weeks. The report should include the measures taken by the Government and the measures it proposes to take to ensure that such incidents don't happen in future."

The Bench also said that the Government should ensure that weapons and firearms are not allowed inside hospital complexes. The Bench further said that under the existing Act the Government should ensure the security of doctors and nurses on duty.

After the death of a patient at Udali Model Hospital in the Hojai district on June 1, 2021, some people brutally attack Dr Seuj Kumar Senapati, besides assaulting a nurse and ransacking the hospital. So far, 32 people have been arrested in that connection. The Bench also said that proper notice of warning is given in every hospital and medical college about the consequence to be followed in law if medical staffers are attacked or manhandled.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma instructed the police to submit the charge sheet in the case within a month to ensure punishment to the guilty within six months.

Also Read: After Dr Senapati, Another Assam Doctor beaten up in Assam's Kharupetia