LAHORE, May 10: The Lahore High Court on Tuesday issued notices to the Punjab government, the Young Doctors Association and others for May 31 on a petition seeking directions to the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council for taking action against the doctors who were involved in a 37-day strike and again announced a strike for May 12.

Chief Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry also issued notices to the respondents on an application for restraining the possible strike by doctors on May 12.

The chief justice observed that the Punjab government had announced a package for doctors and there was no reason to observe strike now. He said action would be taken against the doctors who would observe strike.

The petition was filed by Muhammad & Ahmad, a public-interest litigation firm, through Advocate Muhammad Azhar Siddique. Twenty-five respondents including the Punjab government, the Pakistan Medical and Dental Association, the Pakistan Medical Association, the Young Doctors' Association and the Punjab IGP were issued notices.

The counsel submitted in court that the doctors had violated the PMDC rules and code of ethics by observing strike as a result of which 200 patients lost their lives. No action was taken against the doctors who encouraged them to go for strike again, he said.

He said Justice Ijaz Chaudhry, on April 8, 2010, had ordered the Punjab government to hold an inquiry into the doctors' strike and losses. The doctors again announced a strike for May 12 without waiting for the inquiry commission report.

He said the act was in violation of court orders and an attempt to take innocent lives of citizens, therefore, the action might be declared illegal and unconstitutional.

The counsel prayed that directions be issued to the PMDC to take action against the doctors involved in the 37-day strike and the police to register criminal cases against them. MBBS students:

The Lahore High Court on Tuesday allowed some unsuccessful MBBS students to appear in supplementary examinations and directed the University of Health Sciences (UHS) to entertain their forms on regular fee.

Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed also linked the declaration of their result with final decision of a petition filed by 91 students who were earlier allowed by the court to take annual examination provisionally.

Sadia Waheed and other petitioners pleaded that their result may be declared so that the possibility of their taking supplementary examinations could be considered.

UHS counsel Rassal Hassan Syed said that the result of the petitioners was available in a sealed envelope which he opened before the court. According to the result, some of the petitioners had failed in the examination.

The counsel said that failed petitioners were entitled to sit in the supplementary examinations but the deadline for filing of forms had lapsed on Monday (May 9). He said their forms could be entertained till May 16 with a double fee.

The judge, however, directed the counsel to ensure acceptance of petitioners' forms with regular fee treating their cases “special”.

Justice Saeed adjourned hearing till June 8 and directed that the result of the petitioners would be subject to final verdict. — APP