The junior doctors’ sit-in agitation in front of Swasthya Bhavan and their cease-work across all medical colleges and hospitals in the state will continue, said a junior doctor part of the team from the West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Forum (WBJDF) late on Tuesday.

The junior doctor said that while they welcomed the proceedings at the Supreme Court on Tuesday, their demand for increased security across all hospitals and medical colleges has not been addressed yet.

Their demands include: Adequate security within hospital premises, robust referral systems, centrally monitored real-time bed vacancy and occupancy information, appointment of permanent nurses, paramedical staff, removal of non-medical individuals from the assistant superintendent position, hospital management be handed over to doctors, provision of professional counsellors or facility managers for doctor patient interaction, gender audit in hospitals and an internal complaints committee for all hospitals.

Another doctor said their demand of ending the threat culture in all government medical colleges also needs to be addressed.

Till these demands are met, the cease-work is likely to continue, both junior doctors said.

“We will write to the state government seeking another meeting for some of our pending demands,” said a junior doctor.

Earlier on Tuesday, talks with several protesting junior doctors after the Supreme Court’s hearing revealed that factions had developed within the agitating medics on whether to withdraw the cease-work or continue the agitation in front of Swasthya Bhavan.

The junior doctors, on cease-work since August 9 after the rape and murder of the 31-year-old postgraduate trainee at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, held several meetings since Tuesday afternoon.

“We are discussing several options, including withdrawing the agitation in front of Swasthya Bhavan and joining work, or whether students should go back to their respective colleges and decide on the next course of action,” said one of the doctors who was part of the 40-member delegation that met chief minister Mamata Banerjee at her Kalighat residence on Monday night.

Some doctors were of the opinion that they should continue squatting in front of Swasthya Bhavan for a “few more days” and make more demands to the state government before the ending the cease-work.

“We are expecting a consensus within a couple of days,” he said.

Another agitating doctor said some of them were against withdrawing from the site in front of Swasthya Bhavan as this would make the movement lose its sting.

“The protest site outside Swasthya Bhavan can be accessed by common people easily. In the last seven days, we have received huge support from the people who are providing us food and other items,” said the doctor.

“If we return to our individual colleges, then this overwhelming support will fade out.”

A third doctor said it was not yet the time to go back to work despite the state government telling the Supreme Court that a settlement was reached after Monday night’s meeting with the chief minister.

However, there were others who said the protest site outside Swasthya Bhavan should not be turned into a “festival”.

“It should not look as though people are coming here in a festive mood. We are protesting the rape and murder of our colleague,” said the doctor.

Videos of protesters dancing and beating drums and dhaak on Monday night, after the chief minister announced the removal of Kolkata Police commissioner Vineet Goyal and two officials of the health department, were doing rounds on the social media.

The Supreme Court, during Tuesday’s hearing on the rape and murder case, said junior doctors have to take a decision to return to work.

“We are not modifying our last order. We have passed an order last time, we are not modifying it. We have created conditions for them to come back to work. We have recorded their assurance. Now that you have said there will be no vindictive or adverse action, they will take a decision to come back to work. Let them now do whatever they have to do to implement that assurance,” Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud said.

On September 9, the bench headed by the chief justice had asked the junior doctors to join work by 5pm on September 10. “If doctors do not resume to work then we cannot stop the state government from taking disciplinary action. We want to ensure that doctors resume work. They are in a system to render service. We will provide facilities but they have to reciprocate,” he had said.

“Indira Jaising, the learned counsel on behalf of the junior doctors’ front, has stated that with the above confidence building measures, which are to be followed by the state of West Bengal, the junior doctors would have no difficulty in resuming work. It is being stated that the only concern of the junior doctors was that necessary facilities for ensuring their safety at the workplace should be duly installed,” the chief justice said during Tuesday’s hearing.

Jaising told the court: “We are accountable to our general body. We plan to hold our general body today or tomorrow. So, there may be a gap of time. I want that on record. I do not want to be told I am in contempt of court.”

When the state’s counsel, Kapil Sibal, sought to know when the junior doctors would resume work after holding their general body meeting and then Jaising refused to give a date, the chief justice said the bench was not modifying its last order.

The mood of the protesting doctors outside Swasthya Bhavan was buoyant since the apex court hearing.

Junior doctors gathered in groups and sat on the cots and makeshift structures around smartphones to get the latest news on Tuesday’s proceedings.

Cries of “We demand justice” and “She demands justice” rang out every now and then as the junior doctors followed the court proceedings.

In the evening, as the observations made by the Supreme Court were beamed on news channels and websites, impromptu cheers were heard.

Many among the junior doctors said they were “happy about the Supreme Court proceedings and the order”.

Several said they were keen to rejoin as “their studies were getting affected”.

Lahori Sarkar, a postgraduate trainee at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, said they felt good that several points that they had wanted to be said at the hearing were mentioned in Jaising’s submission.

“I want to return to work and to the operation theatre at the earliest. We are sitting here, out on the streets, for nearly 40 days now. We are quite happy as today it has been proved in court that our demands are valid. Top officials of the health department and the commissioner of Kolkata Police have been transferred. But we are apprehensive as no punitive action has been taken against them and they might return to their previous posts and the vicious cycle of threat culture and corruption will continue,” said Sarkar.

Parichay Nanda, a junior doctor from Ramkrishna Mission Seva Pratisthan, said: “Among all the past few hearings, today’s was the most conducive. Our counsel, Indira Jaising, put across some very valid points that we wanted raised. Our demands were from a point of view that this was an administrative failure and a policing measure failure. However, we expected punitive measures to be taken by the state government against the officials but I am disappointed as this was not done.”

In the evening, the mood at the protest site resembled a fairground as many armed with portable speakers and small drums descended at the site even as junior doctors remained huddled in groups discussing their next course of action.

Tea stalls, ice cream kiosks and fritter sellers did brisk business as many grabbed a bite before rejoining those shouting slogans.