Petition filed in Bombay HC against strike

Mumbai: A petition has been filed in the Bombay high court against the strike called by the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD). The plea was mentioned before Chief Justice Pradip Nandrajog, who is likely to hear it Friday.

According to the petition, on May 4, 2016, the doctors gave an undertaking to the high court that they will not go on strike in future but will instead put forth their grievances before the grievances redress cell created by the HC. The petition said that notwithstanding, the doctors directly went on strike instead of putting forth their grievances before the cell. The petition sought direction for the doctors to call off their strike.

Afak Mandiviya filed the petition seeking direction to the MARD to take back the illegal strike, which has begun Wednesday. The petition stated that due to the strike, thousands of patients would remain untreated in government hospitals. The petition also sought issuance of show cause notice to office bearers of MARD for flouting the undertaking given to the court in 2016.

Mr Mandiviya in his petition said that it was the regular practice of MARD doctors to go on strike and hold thousands of patients to ransom. MARD kept going on strikes to worsen the situation of the poor who were in need of essential services like medicare, and was hence taking undue advantage of medical degrees at the cost of patients’ lives.

He sought direction to the state to implement penal action against doctors under various sections of the Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act 2017 if they did not call off the strike.