HC orders lifting of Bangladesh Medical College strike

The High Court has ordered the Bangladesh Medical College strike to be lifted within six hours.

The court has also issued a rule asking why ‘using patients as hostages during a strike’ should not be deemed illegal.

The health secretary and the director general of health must respond to the rule within the next four weeks.

The High Court bench of Justices Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque and Mohammad Ullah delivered the decision on Tuesday, after an initial hearing of a writ petition asking for an end to the strike.

The petitioner was represented at  the hearing by lawyer Yunus Ali Akhand. The state was represented by Deputy Attorney General Tapas Kumar Biswas.

The doctors had called a strike on Mar 14 after a doctor was transferred from the hospital in Dhanmondi to one in Uttara, Yunus Ali Akhand told the media after the hearing.

“Bangladesh Medical College has a hospital with 1,000 beds. Many patients go there for treatment every day. They have been denied treatment because of the strike. Even the emergency division is not providing care.”

“The strike has been called before the matter was discussed with the administration. The suffering of these untreated patients goes against both law and morality.”

 For this reason the founder of the institution, Prof Neaz Ahmed Chowdhury filed a writ petition against the strike on Monday, Yunus Ali Akhand said.

The court has ordered the government and the health department director general to investigate the case of the transfer, he said. The investigation report must be submitted within a week.