New Delhi, August 9
The Delhi High Court today asked the Delhi Government’s Health Director to personally visit the hospitals, assess the situation and submit a report, while directing the Centre and State government to take appropriate steps to ensure that the emergency services are not affected due to medical employees strike.
A bench comprising Chief Justice S. B. Sinha and Justice A. K. Sikri directed the Delhi Government Health Director to assess the situation by personally visiting the hospitals and submit a report by August 13. The Court sought reports about the state of affairs in various hospitals.
“The respondents (Government) should ensure that no emergency services are allowed to suffer,” the Court said. The Court had on Thursday issued notices to the Centre, the Delhi Government, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the Joint Council of Health Employees (JCHE), seeking their reply to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) highlighting the issue.
The PIL had sought strict action including invoking Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) against employees, who had been observing a “fixed time” strike during a day for the past three days.
As per the programme drawn by the employees they strike work between 7 am and 3 pm and doctors go on strike after 2 pm, the PIL said. However, MCD counsel told the court that there was no strike in its hospitals.
