Protesting doctors approach HC against prohibitory orders by Kolkata Police

Kolkata, Oct 15
The Joint Platform of Doctors, a prominent association of medical practitioners in West Bengal, on Tuesday approached the Calcutta High Court against the prohibitory orders imposed by Kolkata Police on the route of the human-chain protest by representatives from the medical fraternity in central Kolkata.

The association has also requested the Calcutta High Court’s division bench of Chief Justice T.S Sivagnanam and Justice Bivas Pattanaya for a quick hearing in the matter considering that just a few hours are left for the scheduled demonstration christened as “Droh-Carnival” to resume.

The division bench of the Chief Justice has admitted the petition. As per the direction of Chief Justice, a special court of Justice Ravi Krishan Kapur will be hearing the matter at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.

Earlier, on Monday, the Kolkata Police denied no-objection to “Droh-Carnival" on the grounds that it will coincide with the annual carnival on Durga idol immersion organised by the state government.

However, the representatives of the medical fraternity rubbished the logic of the city police and claimed that there was a reasonable distance between the routes of the two carnivals and under no circumstance would the two events crisscross each other.

The doctors also said that come what may the “Droh-Carnival”, convened in protest against the ghastly rape and murder of a junior doctor of R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, will be organised. They have also invited the common people to participate in the carnival.

After that announcement by the doctors, the city police issued prohibitory orders for the entire day in and around the entire route of “Droh-Carnival”. Now, the decision of the division bench of the Calcutta High Court will decide the fate of the event by the protesting doctors.

The two carnivals coincide with the 11th day of the fast-unto-death agitation by a group of junior doctors. Already five junior doctors who had been on hunger strike which started on the evening of October 5 have been hospitalised following severe deterioration in their health conditions.