NEW DELHI, 31 May 2006 — The Supreme Court yesterday told medical students and doctors to end their 18-day-long strike and protests against the government’s affirmative action policy, or face contempt of court charges.

A two-judge bench comprising Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice L.S. Panta said the strikes should end in the interest of patients and asked the government to file a report on the status of the strikes and protests by today.

“We are not concerned at this stage about the government policy. We are concerned at this stage about the plight of the people,” the judges said, displeased that scores of patients were suffering because of the agitation.

Medical students and doctors who have been leading protests against the government’s latest affirmative action policy in higher education, have stayed off work since May 14, disrupting health services in state-run hospitals across the country. Since the matter was now under the Supreme Court’s consideration protests on the issue would constitute contempt of court, the judges ruled.

On Monday, the court asked the government to explain the basis of its policy, after hearing petitions challenging the affirmative action move.

Students from upper castes oppose the government’s decision to set aside 49 percent of seats for students from lower castes in federally funded institutions in the academic session beginning June 2007. They say the policy is discriminatory and will lower standards of the country’s educational institutions.

Soon after the Supreme Court’s decision, the students and doctors at Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences called an emergency meeting and said they were consulting lawyers. Protests were reported yesterday from various parts of the country. Hundreds of Delhi University students took out a protest rally in the capital, students stopped trains and some doctors reportedly set fire to their degrees in protests in northern Chandigarh city, the NDTV reported.

In western Gujarat state, 5,000 private clinics and hospitals remained closed in response to the medical association’s call for a daylong strike. Later, the doctors said that they were determined to continue their agitation until their demands were met.

Health Minister A. Ramadoss discussed the issue with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He ruled out invoking the Essential Services Maintenance Act against the strikers .

— Additional input from agencies