Supreme Court dismisses WB Circular Limiting Women's Doctors Duty Hours

By: WE Staff | Wednesday, 18 September 2024

The Supreme Court ruled against the West Bengal Health Department circular advising hospitals to limit women doctors' duty hours to 12 and avoid night shifts, stating that women need equal opportunities and proper security measures. The court directed the West Bengal government to amend the notification and ensure gender equality in the workplace.

The circular was released by the WB health department leading to an on-duty female doctor trainee brutal rape and murder case on 9 August 2024 at RG Kar Hospital. The court emphasized the implementation of security measures for women, not concessions. The bench of CJI Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra questioned Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal from the West Bengal government about how they can impose restrictions on women doctors, despite women being pilots and part of the armed forces doing nighttime duties.

The CJI-led bench asked, "How can you discriminate against women, and suggest to government medical colleges and hospitals to assign only 12-hour duty to women doctors when their male counterparts would be doing 36 hours of continuous duty." The CJI further mentioned, "Women professionals do not want concession. They want equal opportunity with security. If it is a 12-hour shift, let it be for all resident doctors regardless of gender. The state government must correct this circular."

Advocate Sibal and advocate Astha Sharma have announced that a circular will be amended to remove two clauses objected to by the court and resident doctors, citing the Supreme Court's 2007 judgment in the Anuj Garg case, which ruled against prohibiting women's employment in bars. The SC ruled that the state must ensure safety for women to freely pursue their chosen profession, allowing men and women under 25 to work in bars, despite the Delhi government's opposition citing the Jessica Lal murder case.