Trainee surgeon denies defaming Saifee hosp, says she put up only one post ‘out of desperation’

Only one post on social media platform X dated July 2 was hers and its contents were true, published “out of desperation” because her grievances remained unaddressed and she was compelled to continue working in a hostile environment, the first-year general surgery trainee told the Bombay High Court

MUMBAI: Dr Asiya Khan Luqman, from whom the Saifee Hospital Trust has sought ₹125 crore in damages over social media posts alleging the hospital and its doctors subjected medical trainees to ragging and mental harassment, has denied publishing most of the posts.

Dr Asiya Khan Luqman joined Saifee Hospital in February this year for a DNB in surgery

Only one post on social media platform X dated July 2 was hers and its contents were true, published “out of desperation” because her grievances remained unaddressed and she was compelled to continue working in a hostile environment, the first-year general surgery trainee told the Bombay High Court on Tuesday.

In an affidavit filed through advocate Abhishek Salian, Luqman said that she had neither known, nor consented to the publication of the remaining allegedly defamatory posts against the hospital that appeared on her X account between April and June.

Luqman’s post dated July 2 said, “I am a DNB (Diplomate of National Board) surgery PG1 (post graduate first year) trainee at Saifee hospital. I have raised my grievances to NBEMS ( National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences) against mental harassment by my seniors and the management but things got worse after that. They are torturing me and asking me to resign. Now I have to either resign or quit my life.”

According to the trust, after Luqman joined Saifee Hospital in February this year, she took unauthorised leaves, which affected departmental functioning and patient care responsibilities. She allegedly showed a serious lack of attention to work and had an indifferent attitude, which the trust termed as dereliction of duty.

Countering these allegations, Luqman said in her affidavit that she was routinely required to work from 7am till 10pm without any weekly off, and subjected to “ill treatment” by a second year resident doctor, which caused her “grave mental agony and embarrassment”.

In March this year, she addressed a letter to the hospital citing undue pressure and duress. She said it was becoming increasingly difficult for her to function with regular threats of legal action and removal from the DNB course. She also raised several complaints with the concerned department and the NBEMS in subsequent months.

On July 13, the NBEMS addressed an email to the hospital “advising them to facilitate appropriate counselling and indicated to the hospital to maintain a structured, transparent, and trainee-friendly academic environment”, she said in the affidavit. Yet, the hospital failed to make any amends, while she felt “repeatedly targeted” and was subject to “false allegations and toxicity” over her complaints, she noted.

“None of the actions or inactions on my part has brought disrepute to the Trust. Further, the Trust’s contention that the posts published on social media are likely to affect patient intake, discourage future resident doctors from joining the hospital and have an impact on its revenue is baseless and merely speculative,” she said in the affidavit.