Doctors resorting to strike illegal, can face contempt: HC

New Delhi, Feb 21 (PTI) The Delhi High Court today heldthat doctors of government hospitals are not allowed to go onstrike and directed the AIIMS authorities to find out andpunish those medical practitioners who had resorted to such amethod of protest in recent years.

A bench of Chief Justice Justice Dipak Misra and JusticeSanjiv Khanna said medical practitioners resorting to strike,protests or demonstrations would amount to contempt of court.

"The doctors, residents, interns, para medical staffand any other person connected with AIIMS could not have goneon strike and therefore their said action is declaredillegal," the bench said.

The court ordered the management of the premier instituteto identify doctors who had participated in a 17-day strike inprotest against OBC reservation in educational institutions in2006 and a two-day demonstration in 2007 against the removalof its then Director P Venugopal.

"The President of AIIMS shall constitute a high-poweredcommittee to conduct an inquiry to find out who were thepersons who participated in the earlier strikes and thereafteron such identification proceed against them as per law," thebench said.

The court passed the order on a PIL seeking actionagainst the doctors who had participated in the strike andrefused to give treatment to patients in the hospital.

"It is obligatory on the part of the authorities of theAIIMS to see that no one involved in the institution shows anykind of deviancy by taking recourse to strike, protests ordemonstrations and he who engages himself in such activitywould be liable for disciplinary proceeding and also forcontempt of this court," the court further said.