Calcutta HC concerned over ‘threat culture’ in Bengal's medical colleges

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Thursday directed the West Bengal government to file an affidavit to the court on the alleged "threat culture" in different medical colleges & hospitals in the state.

A division bench of Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam and Justice Bivas Pattanayak also observed that if the allegations of such a "threat culture" going on in medical colleges, where the junior doctors are becoming the victims, is true, then, the matter is quite serious.

The direction came on a public interest litigation where the petitioner requested the court for a direction for investigation in the matter by a committee headed by any retired judge of the Calcutta High Court.

The next hearing in the matter will be in November and the state government will have to file its affidavit in the matter before that. Incidentally, the Calcutta High Court direction comes on a day when the West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Forum (WBJDF), which is spearheading the movement against the ghastly rape and murder of a lady junior doctor at R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital, had sent a fresh message to Chief Secretary Manoj Pant highlighting their unfulfilled demands in the matter.

A major part of the missive dealt with the grievances of the junior doctors relating to the state government’s inaction as regards the formation of the Central Enquiry Committee for disciplinary proceedings against the perpetrators of the ‘threat culture’ in medical colleges. The forum also pointed out that no directive has been given by the state government to individual colleges to form college-level enquiry committees consisting of undergraduate students and resident doctors for disciplinary proceedings against perpetrators of the "threat culture".