AIIMS Strike Called Off as Delhi HC Asks Protesting Nurses to Rejoin Duties

Nurses "must place the interest of patients above and beyond" their dispute with administration, the court noted.

Delhi High Court.

(File Photo: IANS)

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday, 26 April, asked the AIIMS Nurses Union to ensure that its members rejoin their duties with immediate effect, following which the union called off its indefinite strike.

Hearing the plea filed by All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) regarding the strike, a bench of Justice Yashwant Varma listed the matter for a detailed hearing on Wednesday morning,27 April, while noting that the nurses "must place the interest of patients above and beyond" their dispute with the administration.

'Indefinite Strike is Not in the Public Interest'

The Nurses Union, in a statement, said: "In the view of Hon. Delhi High Court's directive, a meeting of available union executives and ad-hoc members has been held on 26 April at 8.30 pm to discuss about the course of action. It has been decided to call off the ongoing indefinite strike and to continue the agitation and protest by other modes as the Hon. Delhi High Court directed to rejoin for duties."

During the course of the hearing, counsel Satya Ranjan Swain, appeared for AIIMS, submitted that the indefinite strike is not in the public interest and termed it illegal.

Observing the alarming trend of nursing officers and other essential workers deputed in AIIMS going on strike, the court also said the development resulted in the cancellation of various emergency operations and has seriously crippled its functioning.

The union began an indefinite strike on Tuesday after its President Harish Kajla was suspended by the hospital administration, demanding the rollback of the action and stopping any kind of measures against union executives and union members of main OT.

Kajla was suspended on Monday night in connection with the 22 April incident of disrupting OT patient services.