KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Friday observed that the service provided by the nurses from Kerala is highly appreciated across the country. “Though the nurses are on strike so far no casualty has been reported. The commitment shown by them is laudable,” the court orally observed. The court asked the state government to file an affidavit explaining whether the Kerala Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) could be imposed on the striking nurses. A Division Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice P R Ramachandran Nair passed the order while considering the petitions filed by Jose Mathew and three others seeking a directive to the state to declare services including, nursing as essential services under the ESMA. The petitioner pointed out that the strike by the nurses had paralysed medical treatment in Ernakulam district and will soon affect the entire state. The Bench granted police protection for the petitioner and five newborns in the neonatology department of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church Medical College Hospital, Kolenchery. The court also said that a final decision could not be taken on the petitions without considering the submission by the striking nurses. The case was posted to Monday.
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