AIIMS Implements 48-Hour Weekly Duty Roster for Residents, UDF Welcomes Move. But will othet health institutions in the country Follow?
New Delhi,
AIIMS New Delhi has become the first health institution in India to implement a 48-hour weekly duty roster for postgraduate medical residents.
The institute’s Academic Section issued an order on August 21, directing all centers to strictly follow the rule.
The order also makes it mandatory to maintain a detailed duty record of residents, which must be produced before the AIIMS headquarters whenever required.
According to the directive, no resident doctor can be put on duty for more than 12 hours at a stretch.
Welcoming the decision, United Doctors Front (UDF) President Dr. Lakshya Mittal congratulated students and said this will set a precedent for hospitals and medical colleges across India.
“The AIIMS order is a landmark step. It will empower students in central, state-run, and even private medical colleges to demand duty hours as per norms.
UDF had filed a petition in the Supreme Court on this very issue, and this order is a direct outcome of that effort.
However, it must not remain a paper directive — strict implementation is crucial. It is now the duty of local RDAs in every AIIMS and medical college to ensure work-to-rule is followed,” Dr. Mittal said.
The UDF has moved the Supreme Court through advocates Sonia Mathur, Satyam Singh, and Neema, challenging the “exploitative” practice of forcing resident doctors to work for excessively long and unconstitutional hours.
The PIL (Diary No. 211832/2025) seeks compliance with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s 1992 directive that fixed resident duty hours at 48 per week.
The petition gained momentum after the Supreme Court, during the hearing of the RG Kar Medical College case in Kolkata earlier this month, termed 36-hour continuous shifts by residents as “inhuman.”
Notices have already been issued to concerned parties in the matter.
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