NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Centre to pay salary to the doctors for the period when they struck work against quotas in educational institutions.

A Bench of Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice Lokeshwar Singh Panta, however, said the medicos would get salary only for the period from May 14 to 30, the day when the apex court asked the doctors to call off their agitation and resume duty. Since they had not accepted the advice but joined duty only on June 3, they were not entitled to salary beyond May 30.

Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam told the Bench: "We have no difficulty in paying the salary to the doctors for the strike period. The no-work-no-pay principle is being applied in all institutions, and our only anxiety is that the departure from this principle should not be a precedent."

To this, the Bench said: "As a matter of law, we don't approve of doctors going on strike. Normally, the principle of no-work-no-pay would apply but for your (the Centre's) assurance that no punitive action will be taken against them if they join back duty."

The Bench turned down the plea of senior counsel L. M. Singhvi, appearing for the petitioner and pleading for grant of salary till June 3. "We are not accustomed to our wishes not being complied with. This order will not act as a precedent ... in view of the peculiar fact and circumstances of this case."

Assurance to court

Mr. Subramaniam also assured the court that all criminal cases registered against the doctors, if brought to the Government's notice, would be withdrawn immediately.

By a June 12 circular, the Health Ministry had said "no work means no pay" and "in case, any resident doctor and others who have neither worked nor applied for leave during this period, pay does not accrue, and therefore pay cannot be disbursed to them."

Assailing this circular, the Resident Doctors' Association of Maulana Azad Medical College and the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences said that during the agitation the Prime Minister gave an assurance on May 28 that no action would be taken against the agitating students, interns and resident doctors in any form.

Deduction of pay

They said that besides deduction of pay, the leave of interns, postgraduate students and resident doctors had been cancelled for the period of the agitation.

As a result, the doctors and other students were forced to extend their internship, making them ineligible to appear for the post-graduate entrance examination.

They sought a direction to the Government to ensure that the salaries as well as leave were restored.

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