A high court division bench of justices Debangshu Basak and Rabindranath Samanta appealed to the protesting junior doctors of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital to withdraw their agitation and resume duty.
The court also observed that the junior doctors should ensure that normal services of the medical college and hospital were not hampered and asked the authorities to ensure the agitation was restricted to an earmarked area.
The bench made the observations while hearing a public interest litigation on the agitation.
The bench also ordered that state health secretary Narayan Swaroop Nigam meet the agitating junior doctors on October 29. A six-member team representing the protesters will meet Nigam at 11am that day.
The matter will come up for hearing again on November 2.
The junior doctors have been on strike for more than 20 days, pressing for a series of demands, including removal of the principal of the medical college.
The state government has asserted that it is not for the doctors to decide who will be the principal.
A section of striking doctors has resumed duty.
Those who haven’t said they will continue with their agitation at least till the October 29 meeting with Nigam and refused to budge from their demands.
The division bench on Monday said it did not want to undermine the rights of junior doctors to organise protests but they should ensure that services were not hampered.
“We hope junior doctors will resume duty immediately. We are ready to address most of their demands,” said a senior doctor at RG Kar hospital.