Bangalore: 'Doctors Have No Right to Go on Strike' - High Court

Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore (SP)

Bangalore, Jan 23: The state High Court in a significant development, has declared that the government doctors have no right to strike work. While banning any form of strike by the doctors in future, it has asked the government to initiate action against the erring doctors in terms of the civil service rules.

The divisional bench of the High Court comprising of Chief Justice of the High Court P D Dinakaran and Justice V G Sabhahit, which examined petitions filed against the doctors who went on strike from November 11 to 14 last, pronounced the said order.  The Court also objected to the inaction of the government, in respect an interim order issued by the Court earlier, to initiate stern steps against the striking doctors.

"The doctors should not hold the society to ransom for getting their demands met. Instead, if they have genuine problems, they should be proceeded to get them redressed through proper administrative channels," it suggested. The High Court also asked the state government to honestly examine the demands of the employees.

The divisional bench expressed its deep dissatisfaction, terming the quantum of punishment meted out to the striking doctors by the government, in the form of issuing show cause notices and deducting wages for three days, as grossly insufficient. The High Court also angrily reacted to the threat posed by the junior doctors to go on strike again. It opined that the doctors would have dithered from going on strike again, if the government had owned a tough posture as per the interim order issued by it earlier.

The bench also praised the doctors who served the patients on humanitarian grounds even during the strike period, and wished that the government would appreciate their services. "An earlier Supreme Court verdict has made it clear that the government employees having legislative and legal powers and those involved with essential services can not go on strike.  This was further confirmed by the divisional bench of the High Court in 2005. Striking work does not befit the medical profession," the High Court commented.

The court questioned the extent of the concern and commitment the government has towards the poor classes of the society vis-a-vis its own employees. It cautioned the government and the employees that if such incidents recur in future, it would view them seriously.