Alliance of Doctors for Ethical Healthcare condemns police action inside hospital in Mangaluru
Seeks 'exemplary punishment' for those guilty
New Delhi: The Alliance of Doctors for Ethical Healthcare (ADEH) issued a press release condemning the 'inhuman and illegal' behavior of Police while dealing with injured persons during the current agitation against NRC and CAA across the country.
"The ADEH condemns the inhuman, illegal behaviour of police personnel towards injured persons seeking health care in the course of the current agitation against CAA/NRC. Some of the Jamia Milia students injured by the police violence were reportedly not even allowed to get medical attention” the release said.
The body also took note of the incident that took place in Mangalore where the police barged into hospital and ransacked the corridors and ICU and condemned the incident.
"Worse has been seen in Mangalore. The News Minute reported that the two firing victims—Jaleel Kudroli (49) and Nausheen Bengre (23)—were brought to Highland Hospital. On hearing of the death of the two people, people started gathering outside Highland Hospital and a confrontation ensued between protesters and personnel" quoted the release.
The video clips show policemen running through a corridor and attempting to kick open a door and using lathis and shields to push people at the other side away. Other news-reporters have reported other misdeeds of the police in this private hospital. Daiji World, a publication that operates from Mangaluru, reported that even people bringing the injured were targeted by the police, said the statement.
Daiji World quoted a doctor as saying, "Police had resorted to lathi charge on patients' relatives inside the hospital, spreading fear among the patients, doctors and staff.” the press statement stated.
"As pointed out by a letter by IMA to Prime Minister’s Office “We have seen several protests in the country. Even when the Emergency was imposed in 1975, hospitals were never touched. This is something which we are seeing for the first time.”
It is the duty of every doctor to treat the injured irrespective of anything else and no authority should interfere in this process. Health care personnel should not be scared to treat any injured/affected persons in such situations" it added.
It also came down heavily on doctors refusing or avoiding to treat those injured during protests and added that Human Rights Commission should probe the matter and look into it.
"There have been media reports, that during the Jamia Milia violence episode, some doctors used communal and derogatory language to injured people and avoided to treat patients. Human rights commission should investigate this matter and the police-obstacle in injured persons accessing health care" the press release added.
The press release further called for a judicial inquiry into the matter and demanded exemplary punishment to those found guilty.
"There should be judicial inquiry into these reported incidences of police excesses and the guilty personnel and their supervisors should receive exemplary punishment. Human rights commission and the Medical Council of India should pro-actively investigate this matter of the reported communal and derogatory remarks regarding the injured persons by medical personnel" demanded ADEH.
The government should send strict instructions to all police and other officials not to invade, threaten hospitals, not prevent any injured person from accessing health care or interfere with the work of health-care personnel to treat injured, affected people in any such conflict situation" the press statement demanded.
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SC to hear pleas for reviewing wages of priests, temple staff
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea to constitute a judicial commission or an expert committee to review the wages and other benefits given to priests, 'sevadars' and temple staff in state-controlled temples.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta is likely to hear the PIL filed by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay.
The plea, filed through advocate Ashwani Dubey, seeks directions to the Centre and states to constitute a judicial commission or an expert committee to review the remuneration and other benefits given to the priests and temple staff in state-controlled temples.
"Petitioner also seeks a declaration that priests and temple staff are employee' under Section 2(k) of the Code on Wages, 2019. Petitioner submits that once the State assumes the administrative, economic and financial control over temples, an employer-employee relationship arises and denial of dignified wages to priests and temple staff violates the right to livelihood guaranteed under Article 21," it said.
Upadhyay said the cause of action accrued on April 4, when he went to Varanasi to attend a public programme and after performing 'Rudrabhishek' in the Kashi Vishwanath temple, which is controlled by the state, he came to know that even the minimum wages to live with dignity are not given to the priests and temple staff.
"Recently, in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, priests and temple staff organised a large-scale protest demanding the minimum wages. Priests and temple staff are not getting even the minimum wage prescribed by the State for unskilled and semi-skilled workers. This is a systemic exploitation. State is acting as a model employer through the endowments department, but violating the minimum wages Act and the directive principles of state policy (Article 43)," it said.
The plea further said the continued refusal to meet the minimum wages with the 2026 inflation-adjusted cost of living index has forced the petitioner to seek judicial intervention to prevent the further marginalisation of priests and temple staff.
Upadhyay further said the precarious nature of livelihood was starkly exposed on February 7, 2025, when a Tamil Nadu department issued a circular at the 'Dandayuthapani Swami Temple' in Madurai, strictly prohibiting priests from accepting 'dakshina' in 'aarti plates'.
"It is necessary to state that priests in such temples often receive no formal salary from the State and rely entirely on 'Dakshina'; the State's administrative order directly threatened them with starvation. Although withdrawn due to public outrage, the incident highlights the State's arbitrary power over the survival of the priests. This is also a bitter truth that States are controlling lakhs of temples but not a single mosque or church," the PIL claimed.
The petition, alternatively, sought direction to the Centre and states to take appropriate steps for the welfare of priests, sevadars and other temple staff in the spirit of the Allahabad High Court's earlier judgments.
