Stopping salaries of doctors to be made an offence

The government will write to all states and UTs to provide alternate accommodations to all health workers and inform the court in four weeks time.
Medics at the inauguration of a COVID hospital in Thane, Maharashtra. (Photo | PTI)
Medics at the inauguration of a COVID hospital in Thane, Maharashtra. (Photo | PTI)

NEW DELHI: Taking a tough stand towards states and hospitals for not paying salaries of doctors and healthcare workers, the Centre on Wednesday informed the Supreme Court that it will come up with guidelines and non-compliance of the directive will be an offence under the Disaster Management Act and the Indian Penal Code.

Agreeing with Centre’s stand, a bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan said any violation by states will be treated as an offence under the Disaster Management Act and Section 188 of IPC (disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant).

The court has given a month’s time to the Centre for compliance after which the hearing will take place.
On June 12, the top court had said that the country cannot afford to have “dissatisfied soldiers” in the war against the pandemic.

Appearing for the Centre, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the top court  that the order will be issued Thursday. The court asked the chief secretaries of all states and UTs to ensure compliance with the order.

The court was hearing a petition filed by Dr Arushi Jain, challenging the Centre’s SOP for frontline Covid healthcare workers that ended the mandatory 14-day quarantine for doctors.

The SOP was issued on May 15.Mehta said that the May 15 order will be modified and the new order  will allow a quarantine period of one week for healthcare workers. Extension of the quarantine will be based on the health worker’s individual profile, he added.

The government will also write to all states and UTs to provide alternate accommodations to all health workers and inform the court in four weeks time.

The Health Ministry has also filed a fresh affidavit in the court, informing it that the Centre as well as the States are giving highest priority to protection of doctors and healthcare workers.

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