Women want equal opportunity: SC objects to Bengal's 'no night duty' policy for women doctors

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday objected to the West Bengal government's 'Rattierer Saathi' programme which stipulated that working hours of women should not exceed 12 hours at a time and prescribed avoiding night duty.

A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra expressed surprise that the state government has issued such a notification.

The top court said if men are working in more that 12-hour shift, women doctors are also entitled to do so.

"How can you say that women will not work in night shifts? Women will have objection if you stop them from working in the night," it said.

Women do not want concessions, but they want equal opportunity. "Why should we prevent a woman doctor from working in the night," it said.

The court ordered that the West Bengal government should immediately correct the notification.

"Your duty is to provide security, you cannot say that women (doctors) cannot work at night. Pilots, the army etc all work at night.

"This will prejudice their (doctors) careers. The hours of duty should be reasonable for all doctors," the bench said.

The apex court said it is the duty of the state government to provide security to the women doctors working in the night.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), said the Centre could provide security for women doctors if the state government was not willing to provide it.

Contending that it was only a temporary security measure, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the West Bengal government, submitted that the state would issue a notification to correct it.

To enhance the safety and security of women working in night shifts across government and private sectors, the West Bengal Health Department had issued a comprehensive set of measures and launched a flagship programme named 'Rattierer Saathi — Helpers of the Night'.

The new guidelines will be enforced in the medical colleges, hospitals and hostels where similar provisions are not already in place, the order said.

"Working hours of women should not exceed 12 hours at a time. Wherever possible, night duty may be avoided for women to the extent possible," it said.

The top court was hearing a suo motu case related to the rape and murder of a postgraduate medic at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.

The medic's body with severe injury marks was found on August 9. A civic volunteer was arrested by the Kolkata Police in connection with the case the following day.

On August 13, the Calcutta High Court ordered the transfer of the probe from the Kolkata Police to the CBI, which started its investigation on August 14.