Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, and Tripura have yet to obey instructions on the timely payment of salaries to healthcare staff engaged in COVID-19, the Center said to the Supreme Court on Friday, adding that the guidelines can not be "helpless."
The court ordered the Center to issue the directions required for the timely release of salaries of doctors and frontline healthcare workers engaged in COVID-19 service. A bench of judges Ashok Bhushan, R Subhash Reddy, and M R Shah has asked the Center to explain how to handle the mandatory quarantine time of healthcare workers as leave and deduct their salaries for the same duration.
"If the states do not comply with the Central Government's directives and orders, you are not powerless. You must ensure that your order is followed. You have the power under the Disaster Management Act. You can also take steps," the bench told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was appearing for the Centre.
Mehta said that required orders were released to all states on June 18, following the directions of the top court on June 17, regarding payment of salaries to healthcare employees. He said several states had followed the guidelines but some of them, such as Maharashtra, Punjab, Tripura, and Karnataka, did not pay salaries on time to doctors and healthcare staff.
Senior Advocate KV Vishwanathan, appearing for petitioner Arushi Jain, said there was no justification for the Center's high-risk and low-risk classification and the government's June 18 advisory after the order of the top court had no reason. He said benefits are also not paid to health-care staff.
The bench was hearing an appeal from Dr. Arushi Jain, a private doctor challenging the May 15 decision of the Center that there was no mandatory 14-day quarantine for patients. The top court also took note of an application lodged by the United Resident Doctors Association (URDA) through lawyers Mithu Jain, Mohit Paul, and Arnav Vidyarthi to deduct doctor's salaries for the duration of mandatory quarantine treating it as leave.
Mehta conceded to this that "the said time can not be treated as leave" and said he would take the requisite instructions on the matter. He said the Central Government should take steps to ensure that physicians and healthcare workers' wages are paid on time. On August 10, the top tribunal placed the matter for further hearing.
On June 17, the top court ordered the Center to issue 24-hour orders to all states and territories of the Union for paying wages to doctors and healthcare staff as well as providing appropriate quarantine facilities for those directly engaged in COVID-19 patients treatment.
It had said, "The Central Government shall issue appropriate directions to the Chief Secretary of the States / Union Territories to ensure that the orders are complied with faithfully, the breach of which may be regarded as an offense read with the Indian Penal Code under the Disaster Management Act."
In her appeal, Dr. Jain also claimed that frontline healthcare workers engaged in the battle against COVID-19 are not being paid salaries or their wages are being reduced or delayed. The Center had previously told the top court that the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) circular on May 15 would also be modified, eliminating the provision for non-obligatory quarantine for healthcare employees engaged in COVID-19 service, and not refusing the quarantine.
The top court had observed on June 12, "In war, you don't unhappy the troops. Ride an extra mile and channel some extra money to resolve their grievances."It had said the courts should not be interested in the issue of wage non-payment to healthcare employees and the government would resolve the matter.