Court reserves ruling on doctors’ strike

Junior doctors of Telangana on an indefinite strike at Indira Park in Hyderabad on Thursday despite the strict warning by the High Court and the State Government to call off the protests. Photo: G. Ramakrishna

A division Bench of the Hyderabad High Court comprising Chief Justice Kalyan Jyothi Sengupta and Justice P.V. Sanjay Kumar on Thursday reserved the judgment in the case filed against the ongoing strike by junior doctors.

Advocate General K. Ramakrishna Reddy told the Bench that three demands of agitating doctors had been accepted by the government but the fourth one regarding rural service was a policy decision. The Bench was hearing the arguments in a case filed by Ravikiran Swamy, who said that junior doctors could not go on strike. Counsel for Junior Doctors argued that in the name of rural postings, the specialty was being neglected. The rural posting should be transparent and professional factors must be considered. The Bench said that the judgment would be delivered soon.

Review meeting

Meanwhile, at a review meeting on the ongoing medical strike and its impact on medical services on Thursday, the Chief Minister asked officials to take a firm stand. A decision on debarring medicos and invoking ESMA is likely to be taken on Friday after the scheduled High Court hearing.

The government has claimed that following its direction notices issued to medicos to call off strike, close to 100 junior doctors joined duties at Gandhi and Osmania General hospitals on Thursday. The medicos, however, disputed the government’s claim and maintained that none had joined duty. According to officials, the State government is in no mood to consider the strike period as leave. “Strikes are happening every year and after crippling medical services, they call off the strike on the pre-condition that the strike period be considered as leave.

This time around, such pardon will not be considered. Medicos will lose their stipends for the strike period,” officials said. Authorities have also written letters on the impending action under G.O. 1022 on junior doctors to their parents.

Apart from debarring medicos for 6 months, striking internees will be sent back to their original institutions for internship and they will not be allowed to take the PG entrance exam.