'No action against doctors who sport stickers related to profession on private vehicles': Madras HC directs TN govt
A vacation bench of Justice PB Balaji heard a petition moved by K Srinivasan, a professional doctor, seeking to exempt doctors from the ban on using such stickers on their vehicles
Representative Image (Illustration: SAAI)
CHENNAI: The Madras High Court directed the police not to take action against doctors for displaying their professional logo or stickers on private vehicles and also directed the National Medical Council and Tamil Nadu Medical Council to frame guidelines to authorize the doctor's logo and stickers, being used in private vehicles.
A vacation bench of Justice PB Balaji heard a petition moved by K Srinivasan, a professional doctor, seeking to exempt doctors from the ban on using such stickers on their vehicles.
The government advocate submitted a counter as per the Court's direction and submitted that the High Court has already directed the Director General of Police (DGP) to prohibit the misuse of stickers, logos, and emblems on private vehicles.
The judge intervened and observed that the police cannot take action against the genuine persons, since the doctors are bound to work on medical emergencies at any time they can be allowed to display their professional symbols or stickers on their private vehicles.
The National Medical Council and Tamil Nadu Medical Council should frame a policy to issue authorized stickers and logos to the doctors as the Bar Council is issuing the authorized stickers to enrolled advocates, the judge observed and directed the petitioner to implead both the medical councils.
Further, the judge also issued directions to the police as an interim measure, not to take any action against the doctors for displaying professional logos and stickers on their vehicles. The stickers or logo should not be pasted other than the windshields of the vehicle, especially on the number plate, the judge directed.
The judge granted liberty to the police to intercept doctors' vehicles to check the genuinity and posted the matter to June 14 for further submission.
The counsel for the petitioner S Sathish contended that doctors are not pasting the stickers on the number plate, but only on the windshield of the vehicle. This will help the general public, as doctors could render medical service to the people in need while traveling, said the counsel.