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The Supreme Court of India has directed the National Task Force (NTF)—constituted specifically to develop safety protocols for medical professionals—to file its response to reports presented by states and other stakeholders on preventing gender-based violence and improving security in hospitals. The initiative follows the grave incident of rape and murder involving a post-graduate medical trainee at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, which ignited nationwide outrage and spurred widespread protests among doctors.
This suo-motu action by the apex court led to the formation of the NTF on August 20, 2024, with the mandate to draft comprehensive guidelines to ensure the safety and security of healthcare personnel, particularly in the context of increasing cases of violence against medical professionals. The NTF, made up of senior physicians and administrators from prominent institutions and chaired by the Union Cabinet Secretary, is tasked with preparing a robust protocol covering aspects such as the prevention of gender-based violence, hospital security, safe working conditions, and effective crowd management.
During the latest hearing, the bench—comprising Justices M.M. Sundresh and N. Kotiswar Singh—granted the NTF eight weeks to submit its detailed response. Previously, the Court had directed hospitals, including premier institutes like AIIMS Delhi, to regularise the absence periods of doctors who had participated in protests over the Kolkata incident. While some hospitals complied, others classified the duration as leave of absence instead.
The Court, in its previous orders, had also urged protesting doctors to resume duty, assuring that no punitive measures would be taken once normalcy was restored, emphasizing “justice and medicine cannot be halted”. Meanwhile, the accused in the Kolkata tragedy was handed life imprisonment till death by a trial court in January this year, marking a significant legal closure even as the process of improving safety for medical professionals continues.
Disclaimer: This article is based on information from publicly available news reports and court orders, and is compiled for informational purposes only. For authoritative details or legal advice, please refer to official judicial documents or consult relevant experts.
