Wed Jan 29 10:28:16 UTC 2025: ## Supreme Court Orders Regularization of Absent Doctors’ Protest Leave
**New Delhi, January 29, 2025** – The Supreme Court of India has directed hospitals, including AIIMS New Delhi, to regularize the unauthorized absences of doctors who participated in protests following the rape and murder of a doctor at R.G. Kar Hospital in Kolkata.
The court’s decision, announced Wednesday, clarifies that doctors who returned to work after the court’s August 22, 2024 order calling for an end to the protests, will have their absences regularized. AIIMS Delhi, among other institutions, had initially treated this period as leave. The court emphasized this decision is specific to the circumstances and does not set a precedent.
The court’s action follows concerns raised by a doctors’ body about the potential negative impact on medical postgraduate students whose protest participation had been classified as leave. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta confirmed that the government would comply with the court’s directive.
The August 22, 2024 order appealed to protesting doctors nationwide to resume their duties, assuring them against any coercive action upon their return. The protests stemmed from the heinous crime in Kolkata, which led to a nationwide outcry. On January 20, 2025, a Kolkata court sentenced Sanjay Roy to life imprisonment for the crime.
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