Doctors' body moves SC CJI over alleged assault on Telangana doctor, seeks uniform safety standards across healthcare facilities
Doctor Assaulted
New Delhi: Referring to an alleged incident of assault on a woman doctor and other healthcare workers at Bhoodan Pochampally Primary Health Centre in Telangana, a doctors' body has submitted a Letter Petition before the Supreme Court Chief Justice of India seeking the Apex Court's intervention in the matter.
Through the Letter Petition, the United Doctors' Front (UDF) has sought the Apex Court's cognisance of the continuing incidents of assault, intimidation and violence against doctors and healthcare professionals and an effective implementation of the constitutional safeguards and directions concerning the safety of medical professionals.
The organisation has sought consideration of uniform minimum safety standards for healthcare establishments, including Primary Health Centres, Community Health Centres, district hospitals, medical colleges and tertiary-care hospitals.
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What led to UDF's Letter Petition:
According to UDF's representation before the CJI, submitted in the larger public interest by UDF through its Chairperson Dr. Lakshya Mittal, on October 1, 2026, a woman doctor and other healthcare workers at Bhoodan Pochampally Primary Health Centre, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri District, Telangana, were allegedly assaulted inside the healthcare facility while on duty.
The doctors' body mentioned in the letter, "According to available news reports, the incident was captured on CCTV and Dr. *** was allegedly assaulted inside her chamber while discharging her professional duties. Assault upon other healthcare personnel and damage to property at the health centre have also been reported. The police have reportedly registered a case and taken the accused into custody. A copy of the FIR is not presently available to UDF; accordingly, the precise offences invoked and the complete sequence of events are left for verification through the official records and investigation."
UDF further added that the incident is particularly disturbing as the alleged assault occurred within a Primary Health Centre, inside the chamber of a doctor, during the discharge of official professional duties.
However, the association has clarified that the precise offences and complete sequence of events remain subject to verification through official records and investigation.
The association pointed out that the issue has already received the Apex Court's attention in proceedings concerning the safety of medical professionals. Following this, the Court had constituted a National Task Force to examine safety, working conditions and well-being of medical professionals and to formulate measures including an enforceable national protocol for safe and dignified working conditions.
Further, the Letter Petition has also drawn attention to the recent judgment/order of the Hon’ble Supreme Court dated 28 September 2026 in State of Maharashtra v. Ramesh Sukrya Mhatre & Ors., concerning the alleged assault on doctors and medical staff at Shastri Nagar Municipal Hospital, Dombivli.
While dealing with the matter, the Apex Court had observed that any attempt to intimidate or assault medical professionals, while discharging duties entrusted to them in the interest of public health, cannot be tolerated.
UDF has submitted that the observations of the Hon’ble Supreme Court acquire particular significance in the Telangana incident, which similarly concerns alleged violence against healthcare workers within a healthcare institution. Stressing that merely registering an FIR after an assault cannot constitute an adequate institutional response, the association has sought consideration of uniform minimum safety standards for healthcare establishments.
Among the measures sought by UDF include 24×7 emergency distress-response mechanisms for healthcare professionals, panic buttons and emergency communication systems, rapid security and police response mechanisms, mandatory preservation of CCTV and other electronic evidence following incidents of violence, adequate security arrangements, particularly at PHCs, CHCs and peripheral healthcare facilities, institutional legal assistance to doctors and healthcare workers subjected to violence, protection against subsequent threats, intimidation and retaliation, and a periodic compliance mechanism requiring States and Union Territories to report on implementation of safety measures.
Dr. Lakshya Mittal, Chairperson, United Doctors Front, said, “A doctor should never have to choose between serving a patient and protecting himself or herself from violence. Assault on a healthcare professional inside a healthcare facility, while discharging official duties, is not merely an individual law-and-order incident—it raises a larger question about the safety and functioning of our healthcare system."
Commenting on the matter, AOR Ritu Reniwal, Legal Advisor of UDF, added, "The country cannot continue with a cycle where a healthcare worker is assaulted, an FIR is registered, there is public outrage for a few days, and then the system returns to business as usual. What is required is prevention, accountability and measurable compliance. If the Supreme Court has already laid down the constitutional importance of protecting medical professionals, the question now is whether those safeguards are actually reaching the doctor standing alone in a Primary Health Centre, a district hospital or an emergency department."
Apart from urging the Apex Court to call for an appropriate status report from the Telangana authorities regarding the FIR, investigation, action against the accused, preservation of CCTV and electronic evidence, security arrangements, assistance provided to affected healthcare workers and steps taken to prevent recurrence, UDF has additionally requested the Court to seek status report from the Union Government, State Government and Union Territories regarding the implementation of existing directions and recommendations concerning the safety and security of medical professionals at their workplaces.
UDF’s urgent Letter Petition seeking suo motu cognisance by the Hon’ble Supreme Court over the reported Telangana assault on a woman doctor has been forwarded from the office of the Hon’ble CJI Suryakant Ji to the concerned Ld. Registrar’ office for necessary action, Dr. Lakshya Mittal, the National Chairperson of the association, told Medical Dialogues.
