Kochi: Kerala High Court on Monday asked the state government to file an affidavit explaining its view on the ongoing strike of the government doctors.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice A.M. Shaffique issued the directive on a plea filed by Rosy Arackal of Nayarambalam seeking to declare the strike illegal.
The Kerala Government Medical Officers Association (KGMO) has not even served a strike notice to the government.
The government can declare the strike as illegal under the Essential Service Maintenance Act. The doctors’ service can be declared as essential service, the petitioner said.
The petitioner argued that the government doctors have resorted to strike from September 9 and the people are facing untold difficulties.
They are depending on government hospitals for treatment. Both the Supreme Court and the Kerala High Court have held that government doctors cannot resort to strike.
