New Delhi, May 7 (IANS) The Supreme Court Monday issued notice to the central and state governments on a petition seeking a shield for nurses against alleged harassment by some hospitals which make them sign bonds and retain their certificates.
The petition was filed by the Indian Professional Nurses Association (IPNA) seeking to put an end to the hospital authorities’ practice of making nurses execute service bonds and deposit their professional qualification certificates at the time of employment.
The petition sought direction to the central government to disclose the steps taken by it to put an end to the system of allegedly making nurses execute bonds and forced retention of their professional certificates by hospitals which hire them.
An apex court bench of Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia, Justice A.K. Patnaik and Justice Swatanter Kumar issued notice as the IPNA sought the enforcement of fundamental rights of working professional nurses under Article 14, 19 and 21 of the constitution.
The petition said that nurses were being exploited at their work places every day in one way or the other.
Counsel for the nurses’s group Deepak Prakash told the court that the state government officials should be directed to visit all the hospital to ensure that the system of service bond and detaining qualification certificates of nurses was not resorted to by them in the future.
The petition also sought compensation to the nurses or their families for the losses and injuries they suffered during the discharge of their duties.
The plea said that the immediate cause of moving court was the suicide committed by a 22-years-old Nurse Beena Babi working at Asian Heart Hospital, Bandra, Kurla Complex in Mumbai. The petition alleged that Beena Babi was harassed by her hospital authorities.
