Asking the protesting doctors across the country to withdraw their agitation and get back to work as it is already seized of the issues, including that of their safety, raised by them, the Supreme Court on Tuesday set up a high-powered National Task Force (NTF) to go into the issues of the safety of the doctors, nurses and other medical professions in the hospitals and medical colleges.
The NTF will comprise nine eminent doctors, cabinet secretary, Union Home Secretary, the Health and Family Welfare Secretary.
Announcing the National Task Force to be headed by Director General, Medical Services (Navy) Surgeon Vice-Admiral Arti Sarin, Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud heading a bench also comprising Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra said, “As more and more women join the work force…..the nation cannot wait for another rape for things to change on the ground.”
The NTF has been tasked with formulating effective recommendations to address safety, working conditions, and well-being of medical professionals, among other related matters.
The top court directed, on a suggestion by the Central government, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to take over the security of the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital.
The West Bengal government consented to handing over the security of the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital to the Central Industrial Security Force. However, it stated that the ability of the State police for providing security to the doctors’ and other medical staff could not be questioned.
The reason why we have decided to take this suo motu matter is because this is not a matter related to a particular murder which took place in a hospital in Kolkata. It raises systemic issues related to the safety of doctors across India, the top court said.
The Chief Justice Chandrachud in his judgment said, “…we must evolve a national consensus. There must be a national protocol to create safe conditions of work. If women cannot go to a place of work and feel safe, we are denying them equal opportunity. We have to do something right now to ensure that the conditions of safety are enforced.”
Besides Surgeon Vice-Admiral Arti Sarin, other members of the NTF are Dr D Nageshwar Reddy, Chairman and Managing Director, Asian Institute of Gastroenterology and AIG Hospitals, Hyderabad
Dr M Srinivas, Director, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, Dr Pratima Murthy, Director, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, Dr Goverdhan Dutt Puri, Executive Director, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur, Dr Saumitra Rawat, Chairperson, Institute of Surgical Gastroenterology, GI and HPB Onco-Surgery and Liver Transplantation and Member, Board of Management, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi; Member, Court of Examiners, Royal College of Surgeons, England, Professor Anita Saxena, Vice-Chancellor, Pandit B D Sharma Medical University, Rohtak. Formerly Dean of Academics, Chief- Cardiothoracic Centre and Head Cardiology Department at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, Dr Pallavi Saple, Dean, Grant Medical College and Sir JJ Group of Hospitals, Mumbai, Dr Padma Srivastava, formerly Professor at the Department of Neurology, AIIMS Delhi currently serving as the Chairperson of Neurology at Paras Health Gurugram.
Besides eminent doctors, Cabinet Secretary, Union Home Secretary, Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Chairperson, National Medical Commission and President, National Board of Examinations are the ex- officio members of the NTF.
Thrashing the media reports that the rape and murder victim had committed suicide, senior advocate Kapil Sibal appearing for the West Bengal government said that they have submitted a status report stating that it was a rape and murder.
On the action taken by the State police, Sibal said that the state police have already arrested the civic employee suspected to be involved in the crime. He said besides the main accused, 37 other people have been arrested and 50 FIRs registered against them.
This prompted the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to retort that the registration of 50 FIRs is a sure recipe of investigation reaching nowhere. The Solicitor General Tushar Mehta represented the Central government in the hearing.
The court took exception to the handling of the situation by the West Bengal government as it said, “As horrific details have emerged in the course of media reportage, the brutality of the sexual assault and the nature of the crime have shocked the conscience of the Nation. The name and graphic images of the deceased have been widely circulated on social media without regard to her privacy or dignity.”
The court questioned the West Bengal government over the delay in the registration of FIR in respect of August 9, crime.
Stating that the lack of institutional safety norms both against violence and sexual violence against medical professionals is a matter of serious concern, the top court said, “While gendered violence is the source of the more malevolent manifestations of the structural deficiencies in public health institutions, the lack of safety is of concern to all medical professionals.
“Preserving safe conditions of work is central to realizing equality of opportunity to every working professional. This is not just a matter of protecting doctors. Their safety and well-being as health providers, it is a matter of national interest. As more and more women join the workforce in cutting edge areas of knowledge and science, the nation has a vital stake in ensuring safe and dignified conditions of work.
“The constitutional value of equality demands nothing else and will not brook compromises on the health, well-being and safety of those who provide health care to others. The nation cannot await a rape or murder for real changes on the ground.”
Posting the matter for further hearing on August 22, the top court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to submit a status report on the progress of its investigation of the crime at RG Kar Medical College Hospital and asked the West Bengal government to file a status report on the progress of State police investigation on the acts of vandalism that took place at the Hospital in the aftermath of the August 9, 2024, incident.