A division bench of the Gujarat High Court stated that the bonded doctors’ resistance to joining COVID duty is not acceptable or warranted. The bench heard a petition by 251 specialists bonded doctors who have challenged the state government summon for COVID-19 duty to them.

Senior advocate of Supreme Court, Sanjay Hegde, represented the petitioners and submitted that during a war-like situation, people can be called to perform their duties by law, in the case of bonded doctors called for Covid-19 duty, there is no law nor legislation.

The 251 petitioners who have studied at government medical colleges, had signed a bond mandating rural service or pay the bond amount if they opt-out of rural service. But due to the pandemic, bonded doctors were called for Covid-19 duty by the state government through multiple circulars. They were denied the option to opt-out of duty by paying the bond amount also.

The division bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Chief Justice Vikram Nath have remarked that the country needs them at this time and they are arguing about not serving the society. The resistance of these doctors is not very acceptable or warranted.

Advocate Amit Panchal, representing the petitioners, mentioned that 185 out of the 251 petitioner-doctors have served the Covid-19 duty, and others were engaged in specialized fields. One cannot abandon their patients and serve in a Covid-19 ward. The bench clarified that it is “only testing whether they are been rightly called or not by the state government for Covid-19 duty.”

Government pleader Manisha Shah has submitted that during the hearing suo motu PILs related to Covid-19 matters, that there is a terrible shortage of specialists in the district and rural areas, with almost 1,000 vacancies.  Due to the unpreparedness during the second wave, they are invoking these bonds to ensure the preparedness to meet any emergency or critical situation. The bond stipulates that you either pay the money or render your service. Most of the petitioners are issued orders on three to four occasions and have invoked sections 2 and 3 of the Epidemic Diseases Act. In this serious situation, they are left with no option but to proceed with criminal action.

Source: The Indian Express