A division bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice P.V. Sanjay Kumar on Tuesday warned the agitating junior doctors that the court would proceed with the case if the doctors do not want to be represented during the hearing. The bench made the observation while dealing with a plea by advocate, S. Raju, against the ongoing strike by junior doctors, which has left emergency services in government hospitals across the state paralysed.

On Monday, the court had issued an urgent notice to the doctors on strike through a special messenger. But the junior doctors were not represented in court when the case came up for hearing on Tuesday. Advocate-General A. Sudarshan Reddy pointed out that even if the court notice had not been served on them, the issue was widely reported in the media and that the doctors knew about it.

The court subsequently asked the Advocate-General whether medical services were declared as an essential service under the Esma, and whether the doctors on strike come under its purview. Mr Sudarshan Reddy replied in the positive, and said the government at present pays Rs 8,000, Rs 18,000, Rs 19,000 and Rs 20,000, as stipend to junior doctors as per the agreement reached with them in 2009. He handed over a copy of the agreement to the court.

Granting a day to serve the notice to the junior doctors, the bench adjourned the hearing to Thursday. Meanwhile, Director of Medical Education Dr Vasant Prasad on Tuesday appealed to the junior doctors and house surgeons to call off their indefinite strike in view of the approaching post graduate entrance examination.