Hospitals must not function as an extension of law enforcement: Safdarjung Hospital resident doctors

Expressing concern about the continued hospitalisation of activist Sonam Wangchuk, who is on an indefinite protest fast, a group of resident doctors at the government-run Safdarjung Hospital appealed for the President’s intervention in the case on Tuesday (July 21, 2026).

“Hospitals are institutions of healing and must not be perceived as places of detention except where such restriction is expressly authorised by law and carried out in accordance with due process,’’ the Resident Doctors’ Association, VMMC & Safdarjung Hospital, said in a letter addressed to the President of India Droupadi Murmu. 

The group said that there cannot be any compromise regarding patient autonomy, medical ethics, institutional independence, and the functioning of public healthcare institutions.

Patient rights

Mr. Wangchuk was forcibly removed from the Jantar Mantar protest site by the police on Saturday morning (July 18, 2026) and admitted to Safdarjung Hospital, where access to him was restricted. On Tuesday (July 21, 2026), the Delhi High Court approved his wife’s appeal to transfer him to the privately-run Medanta Hospital.

In their letter, the Safdarjung residents state that while Mr. Wangchuk’s medical condition and the necessity of his continued hospitalisation remain matters of independent clinical judgment, every individual admitted to a hospital is, first and foremost, entitled to be treated as a patient — with dignity, compassion, and in accordance with established medical ethics and the Constitution of India. 

“Any restriction upon a patient’s liberty must be exercised strictly in accordance with law, remain proportionate and transparent, and must not compromise the patient’s rights, the professional independence of treating doctors, or the functioning of the hospital,’’ they said.

‘Not extension of law enforcement’

The group added that restricted access to hospital areas, sealing off portions of the hospital, deploying extensive security personnel across multiple floors, and restricting routine hospital operations have generated widespread concern. If such measures resulted in the disruption of patient care, impeded access to healthcare services, or created an environment in which a hospital appeared to function as an extension of law enforcement rather than a place of healing, the matter warrants independent examination, the doctors said.

The doctors sought the President's intervention to allow Mr. Wangchuk to exercise his option to leave against medical advice and said that government hospitals, healthcare personnel, and medical services must not be treated in a manner that creates the perception that they are being used to facilitate non-medical objectives.

Putting doctors at risk

“Incidents of this nature erode public confidence in doctors and place healthcare workers at an even greater risk of hostility and violence, despite having no role in administrative or political decisions,’’ the doctors from Safdarjung said, adding that hospital administrations must remain independent custodians of medical ethics and patient welfare.

Resident doctors from the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi and King Edward Memorial Hospital, Maharashtra, also expressed their anguish at police action against students, doctors, youth and other protestors on Monday (July 20, 2026), when several protestors were injured and hospitalised.