The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that it was deeply concerned about the absence of conditions of safety for doctors and medical professionals across the country.
The Bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra said that it has initiated the suo motu case over the rape and murder of a doctor at the RG Kar Medical College Hospital at Kolkata on August 9 to address the systemic issues.
The Bench said it decided to take suo motu cognisance of the incident because this was not a matter related to a particular murder that took place in a hospital in Kolkata. It raised systemic issues related to the safety of doctors across India.
The Apex Court said it was deeply concerned about the virtual absence of conditions of safety for young doctors in public hospitals, especially women doctors who were more vulnerable because of the nature of work and gender.
There must be a national protocol to create safe conditions of work. If women could not go to a place of work and feel safe, they were being denied equal opportunity.
The Apex Court said it was creating a National Task Force comprising doctors all over the country to give recommendations on the modalities to be followed all over the country to ensure the safety of medical professionals.
It noted that several states such as Maharashtra, Kerala, Telangana, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have framed state laws to deal with violence against doctors. However, these laws did not address deficiencies in institutional safety standards.
The Bench observed that as more and more women joined the workforce in cutting-edge areas of knowledge and science, the nation had a vital stake in ensuring safe and dignified conditions of work. The constitutional value of equality demanded nothing else and would not brook compromises on the health, well-being, and safety of those who provided health care to others. The nation could not await a rape or murder for real changes on the ground, it added.
The Apex Court ordered the constitution of a 10-member National Task Force, to be headed by Surgeon Vice Admiral Arti Sarin AVSM, VSM. Director General Medical Services (Navy).
The NTF would make recommendations pertaining to the safety, working conditions and well-being of the medical professionals. It was directed to furnish an interim report in three weeks and a final report within two months
The Apex Court, in its order, also appealed to the doctors protesting all over the country against the crime, to return to their duties.
The Bench said since it has taken up the issues relating to the doctors’ safety, the protesting medical professionals ought to refrain from abstention from duties.