RG Kar Case: Supreme Court Directs Hospitals To Regularise Doctors’ Absence During Protests

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed hospitals, including AIIMS New Delhi, to regularize the unauthorized absence of doctors who had participated in protests following the rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Hospital in Kolkata.

The bench, led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar, noted that while some hospitals had already regularized the absence of protesting doctors in line with an earlier August 22, 2024, order, others, including AIIMS Delhi, had treated the period as leave of absence.

The bench clarified that if protesting doctors resumed work after the Supreme Court’s order, their absence should be regularized and not considered as time off duty.

The Chief Justice emphasized that this decision was based on the specific circumstances of the case and was not meant to set a precedent for future matters.

A lawyer representing the doctors’ body raised concerns that treating the protest period as leave could create issues, particularly for medical post-graduate students. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, assured the court that hospitals would comply with the Supreme Court’s instructions, acknowledging that while some institutions, like AIIMS Kalyani, Gorakhpur, and PGI Chandigarh, had regularized the absence, AIIMS Delhi had opted to treat the period as leave.

In August 2024, the Supreme Court had made an impassioned plea to protesting doctors across the country to return to work, stating that “justice and medicine” should not be interrupted. The Court also ruled that no coercive action would be taken against doctors who resumed their duties.

The protests were triggered by the horrific crime that led to nationwide outrage.

On January 20, a Kolkata trial court sentenced Sanjay Roy to life imprisonment for the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Hospital. The victim’s body was found in a seminar room at the hospital on August 9, 2024, and Roy, a civic volunteer, was arrested the following day.

Court heard a suo-motu case related to the rape and murder of the doctor, emphasizing the need to balance justice for the victim with the protection of medical professionals’ rights.

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