On Thursday, the High Court of Madhya Pradesh directed the striking junior doctors in the state to resume their duties within 24 hours but the protesting medicos remained defiant & nearly 3,000 of them resigned from their posts & announced they will challenge the ruling.

The Court termed the four-day-old strike as "illegal".

Nearly 3,000 junior doctors working in the 6 Govt medical colleges of the state resigned en masse from their posts on Thursday & submitted their resignations to the dean of their respective colleges, Madhya Pradesh Junior Doctors Association (MPJDA) president Dr Arvind Meena said.

The strike, which began on Monday, will continue till their demands are fulfilled, he said.

The junior doctors have put forward multiple demands before the State Govt, including a hike in stipend & free treatment for them & their families if they contract the deadly COVID-19 infection.

Mr Meena said the State Govt has already cancelled their enrollment for the third year PG & therefore they wont be able to sit for examinations.

He said the MPJDA will appeal against the HC Judgement in the Apex Court.

Mr Meena alleged members of the Medical Officers Association & the Federation of Resident Doctors Association will also join their agitation.

He said junior & senior doctors of Rajasthan, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Bihar, Maharashtra & AIIMS Rishikesh, among others, have supported their strike.

Mr Meena claimed on May 6, the Govt authorities promised to fulfil their demands but nothing happened after that, forcing them to stop work.

Asked about the governments decision to raise their stipend by 17% & whether they will resume duties after relevant orders are issued, M Meena said remained non-committal.

He said that "The government has promised to raise the stipend by 24 per cent & till they raise it to that limit, the strike will continue".

Earlier in the day, the high court at Jabalpur termed the statewide strike called by the JDA as illegal & directed the protesting junior doctors to return to work by 2:30 PM on Friday.

A division bench of Chief Justice Mohammad Rafiq Ahmed & Justice Sujoy Paul said in case the striking doctors do not resume duties within the set timeframe, the State Govt must take stern action against them.

The bench condemned the JDA's decision to go on a strike at the time of a pandemic & said such a step cant be encouraged during a health crisis.

The High Court was hearing a plea against the strike filed by Jabalpur-based advocate Shailendra Singh.

Meanwhile, at a press conference in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh medical education commissioner Nishant Warwade said Minister of Medical Education Vishvas Sarang had met JDA representatives a number of times & taken several positive steps for resolving the matter.

Mr Warwade said as per the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a 17% increase in stipend of junior doctors has already been approved & soon orders to this effect will be issued.

Depending on the prevailing CPI, the stipend will be further enhanced, the senior bureaucrat said. Besides hiking stipend, the government is also implementing medical insurance schemes for them, he said.

Like other officials & employees, ESMA (Essential Services Maintenance Act) is also applicable to doctors & it is expected the striking medicos will get back to treating patients which is their moral duty, Mr Warwade said.

The Act provides for the maintenance of certain essential services, including those related to health. 

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