06 August,2026 04:49 PM IST | Mumbai | Ritika Gondhalekar
Members of the IMA, MARD and ASMI protest at Mumbai`s Azad Maidan over pending demands on Thursday. PIC/Ashish Raje
The Bombay High Court on Thursday ordered resident doctors in Maharashtra to immediately withdraw their statewide strike, expressing serious concern over the impact of the agitation on patient care and warning that protesting doctors could face salary cuts if they failed to resume work.
The strike, called by the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD), was launched in protest against the registration of homoeopathy practitioners under the Maharashtra Medical Council, a move doctors claim could allow homoeopaths to prescribe allopathic medicines.
A bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad took suo motu cognisance of the strike and directed resident doctors to immediately return to duty.
The court said while every citizen has the legal right to protest, such demonstrations cannot come at the cost of patients' lives.
"We are worried about the health of the thousands of patients and also the residents of Maharashtra," the bench observed.
Questioning the decision to continue the strike, the judges remarked that even if the doctors ultimately succeeded in their agitation, they would not be able to undo the harm caused to patients during the protest.
"Why are you resorting to a strike at the cost of patients? Tomorrow you may succeed in your agitation, but then will you be able to bring back the lives of those patients who may have died during the strike?" the bench asked.
The High Court cautioned that the wages of resident doctors could be withheld if they failed to immediately report back to work.
The bench also expressed concern over reports that doctors were considering suspending Intensive Care Unit (ICU) services if the deadlock with the state government continued, observing that such a move could have grave consequences for critically ill patients.
Following the court's observations, Indian Medical Association (IMA) senior counsel S U Kamdar and MARD president Dr Atharva Shinde informed the bench that the resident doctors would call off the strike and resume services.
To prevent similar disruptions in the future, the court appointed senior counsel Vineet Naik and advocate Amogh Singh as amicus curiae to assist the court.
They have been asked to prepare a petition seeking the court's permission to issue directions to prevent doctors from resorting to strikes that disrupt essential healthcare services.
The bench reiterated that it did not want a single patient to lose their life in government or civic-run hospitals because of the strike.
Distinguishing strikes in other professions from those in the medical profession, the court observed that while industrial strikes may lead to financial losses, a strike by doctors could result in irreversible loss of human life.
The matter has been posted for further hearing on September 8.
