Bombay HC Orders Maharashtra Doctors To End Strike (Img: X)
New Delhi: The Bombay High Court on Thursday directed protesting doctors in Maharashtra to immediately call off their strike and return to work, expressing serious concern over disruption in healthcare services across government hospitals.
The court questioned the impact of the protest on patients, especially those requiring emergency treatment and intensive care, and warned that doctors could face consequences if they failed to resume their duties.
A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Ravindra V Ghuge and Justice Gautam A Ankhad took suo motu cognisance of the doctors’ strike after reports highlighted disruption in medical services across Maharashtra.
During the hearing, the court expressed concern over reports that emergency and ICU services could be affected due to the protest. “If even one patient dies in municipal hospitals during the strike, who will take responsibility?” the bench questioned while hearing the matter.
The court said doctors hold a critical responsibility towards patients and that essential healthcare services cannot be stopped.
The High Court directed the protesting doctors to withdraw the strike after the lunch break and assured that their concerns would be considered through proper legal channels.
The bench also warned that doctors could face consequences if they continued to remain away from their duties despite the court’s direction. Following the hearing, the counsel representing the Indian Medical Association (IMA) informed the court that doctors would call off the strike.
The court issued notices to the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD), the IMA and the state Medical Education Department.
Doctors across Maharashtra had launched the protest against the state government’s decision allowing qualified homoeopathy practitioners to prescribe modern medicines after completing a one-year Certificate Course in Modern Pharmacology.
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The Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) had started registering practitioners who completed the BHMS–Certificate Course in Modern Pharmacology (CCMP), enabling them to prescribe allopathic medicines under the state government’s framework.
The doctors’ protest affected routine healthcare services at several government hospitals, including outpatient departments, elective surgeries, laboratory facilities and regular inpatient care.
Around 12,000 junior doctors across Maharashtra, including more than 2,000 doctors from Mumbai’s BMC-run medical colleges, were reported to have participated in the strike.
To maintain essential services, hospitals deployed senior doctors, professors and interns during the protest period. The IMA had also warned that the issue could expand into a nationwide agitation involving doctors and medical students if the Maharashtra government did not reconsider the policy.
