The agitating junior doctors are disheartened and upset with the Supreme Court (SC) directive to resume work within 5 pm Tuesday.

Hours after the SC directive the chief minister appealed to the agitators to join work in government medical colleges and hospitals.

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“The Chief Justice of India (CJI) has directed us to go back to work. We may go back but we don’t think we are getting justice because all culprits involved in the incidents have not yet been arrested so far. We are completely upset with the directive of the SC,” said Dr Aniket Mahato, spokesperson of the West Bengal Junior Doctors Front, a newly formed platform of agitating doctors after the R G Kar Hospital incident.

“The state government using the SC directive has been trying to break our protest programme since 9 August when the incident had occurred at R G Kar Hospital. Why is the commissioner of police (CP) Vineet Kumar Goyal holding the post at Lalbazar? Why doesn’t the chief minister suspend him?” Dr Mahato said.

The junior doctors said they will announce their future plan of action after the general body meeting this evening.

“If doctors do not resume to work then we cannot stop the state government from taking disciplinary action. We want to ensure that doctors resume work. They are in a system to render service. We will provide facilities but they have to reciprocate,” the CJI said in the Supreme Court hearing.

Doctors at R G Kar Medical College Hospital said: “This entire movement and protest was to seek justice for our colleague. We cannot speak above the Supreme Court and go against it. How can we be happy and return to work when our issues are not solved? This is just a temporary solution; but what is happening on a permanent basis?”

The Indian Medical Association (IMA), West Bengal branch, expressing their solidarity with the agitating junior doctors, also stated that the association was also upset with developments in the SC today.

“We were expecting a positive outcome keeping in mind the brutality of the offense. However, we are totally disheartened by the proceedings of the court and CBI. No step was taken for speedy trial for justice of our colleague,” a press release issued by the IMA stated.