The Supreme Court on Thursday nudged the striking doctors to resume work for the patients’ sake but junior doctors at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital insisted till evening that their cease-work would continue.

“We respect the Supreme Court but most of the junior doctors are of the opinion that the cease-work should continue till our primary demand is met,” said Aniket Mahato, a postgraduate trainee at RG Kar and one of the leaders of the protest.

“The main demand was the arrest of all those involved in the rape and murder of the doctor. But barring one person, no one else has been arrested yet. Nor has the CBI come forward and said what it has found.”

During a three-hour hearing, a bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud orally observed: “Our hearts go (out) to all those people who have to go to public hospitals.”

However, its written order merely said: “In view of the fact that this Court has taken measures to ensure the institutionalisation of the concerns of the medical professionals in terms of the previous order dated 20 August 2024, it is only to be expected that doctors would now return to work.”

The court clarified that it had not restrained the state governments from taking any lawful action against the protesters, but said no coercive action shall be taken against them as long as the protests are peaceful. Nor should they face such action for protests carried out before the court order.

However, the bench declined to direct that the doctors who have abstained from work, following the rape and murder of a junior doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Calcutta on August 9, be marked present.

“How can we tell the administration to mark something which is not correct? Ask them to first return to work, nobody will take action,” the bench, which included Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra, said.

“Once doctors resume duties, we will prevail upon the authorities to not take adverse action. How will public administration survive if they don’t resume work?”

The bench made these oral observations as lawyers representing various doctors’ associations across the country complained about being targeted by hospital authorities for abstaining from work.

The CJI agreed with doctors’ associations that understaffing at government hospitals often forces doctors to put in 36 hours of work at a stretch. But while sympathising with the doctors, he made it clear they must resume work.

“All of us have family members, relatives who have gone to public hospitals. I have slept on the floor of a public hospital when somebody in the family was not well. We have gone through that,” Justice Chandrachud observed.

The bench emphasised that it had already taken up the doctors’ fears about their safety, having on Tuesday constituted a 14-member National Task Force (NTF) to come out with recommendations.

Justice Chandrachud said the court would not just issue guidelines on the basis of the NTF’s recommendations but also “enforce implementation” of the measures suggested.

Advocate Karuna Nundy, appearing for some of the doctors, complained that after putting in 36 hours of work, a medical professional is so exhausted that they are hardly in a position even to put up a resistance against lewd remarks, let alone serious sexual assaults.

Senior advocate Geeta Luthra complained that junior resident doctors were “still being terrorised”.

To a query from the bench, she said they were being terrorised by the RG Kar hospital administration for protesting.

Nundy alleged “institutional compromise with regard to the financial irregularities” at RG Kar. She said the SIT formed by the Bengal government to probe the various alleged irregularities at the hospital was made up of state government officials and therefore did not inspire confidence.

The bench noted the statement by solicitor-general Tushar Mehta, representing the CBI, that in compliance with the court orders, the CISF had been deployed on security duty at RG Kar.

“During the course of the hearing, counsel representing several resident doctors’ associations have indicated to the Court that the doctors are willing to go back to work and their duties,” the court said.

“However, it has been submitted that the State Governments may take a considered view on putting into place at least some safety measures to assuage the concerns of the doctors.

“We consider the above suggestion to be fair. In order to facilitate this, we direct that the Secretary in the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare shall engage with the Chief Secretaries and Directors General of Police so as to ensure that the State Governments/ Union Territories put into place certain basic minimum requirements pending the receipt of the report of the NTF to assuage the concerns of the doctors over their safety at their workplaces.

“The exercise of holding (the) meeting should be completed within a period of one week from today. The State Governments shall take remedial and appropriate action given the exigencies of the situation within a period of two weeks thereafter.

“Pending the submission of the report of the NTF, all State Governments and Union Territories shall be alert to any apprehended violations or breaches of safety in medical establishments. The States/ Union Territories would without awaiting the report of the NTF take suitable measures such as installing CCTV cameras and call distress systems.”

The top court reiterated that the NTF “should engage with diverse stakeholders” including “Interns, Residents, Senior Residents, doctors and nurses as well as of the paramedical staff”.

“During the course of the hearing, counsel have placed some additional suggestions which may be taken into account by the NTF, including: (i) Institutionalisation of distress call systems; (ii) Regulation of duty hours; and (iii) Constitution of a compensation distress fund,” it said.

The court asked the Union health secretary to open a web portal on the ministry website on which various stakeholders may submit their suggestions for consideration by the NTF.

The next hearing is on September 5.