Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing on a PIL seeking guidelines for the protection of doctors across Maharashtra from being assaulted by the families of patients, for a week.
A bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Girish Kulkarni while hearing a PIL filed by Pune-based Dr Rajeev Joshi through advocate Nitin Deshpande, allowed some associations to intervene in the matter.
The bench has allowed the association of medical consultants from Pune to intervene into the matter and place its stand on the issue. The judges have also allowed association of hospitals as a party to be heard in the proceedings.
Deshpande urged the bench to grant an urgent hearing in view of the rising cases of Covid. He highlighted the fact that the Maharashtra Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage or Loss of Property) Act of 2010 was not sufficient to protect the doctors.
The counsel further stated that similar laws for the protection of doctors in other states are sufficient but the one in Maharashtra isn't.
The judges while allowing intervention applications, adjourned the hearing till next Tuesday.
