LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Saturday turned down a petition which had sought personal protective equipment (PPE) kits and additional financial relief for doctors working as medical officers in hospitals across Punjab, treating Covid-19 patients.
In its detailed verdict, the court – while declaring that the petitioners had mala fide intentions – ordered the petitioners, a group of five doctors, to cover the costs while allowing the Punjab health department and the provincial government to take action against them if deemed necessary.
According to the order, the petitioners had pleaded for the provision of protective equipment for all health professionals combating the epidemic but according to the records shared with the court, not one of the five petitioners had been assigned duties related to coronavirus.
The court noticed that one of the petitioners was posted for a day to screen patients for Covid-19, for which he was given complete protective gear.
“For what has been stated above, the instant writ petition on the face of it appears to be a mala fide move and an attempt to get easy social media projection for no solid and sound basis thereof,” read the order.
Accepting the Punjab government’s stance that PPEs are only provided to doctors treating coronavirus patients, the court also noted in its order that several developed countries, including the US, were also facing a shortage of protective gear in the health crisis that has emerged from the pandemic.
The court said it would be unfair to give a verdict against the Punjab government when it had been taking effective measures to ensure the safety of doctors, adding that doctors as public servants also had a responsibility towards the state.
“If for all good reasons, we keep doctors on the highest pedestal, at the same time we cannot allow all and sundry to play havoc in the society by spreading chaos through unauthentic information or levelling allegations against the state or its institutions,” the verdict read.
The court also noted that the pleas by the doctors, including the financial relief package, were directly related to their terms of service, for which they have means of redressing in the form of hierarchies in the health department.
Without approaching other modes of redressal granted to them, public servants cannot move the high court with a constitutional petition, Justice Khan wrote.
