A public interest litigation was today filed in the Bombay High Court by a lawyer against the indefinite strike called by resident doctors across Maharashtra and it sought invoking of stringent essential services maintenance law if the agitation did not end.

The petition has sought a direction to the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) to call off their strike and a direction to the state government to evoke the provisions of the Maharashtra Essential Services Maintainence Act (MESMA) against the doctors if the strike is not called off.

Over 4,000 resident doctors went on an indefinite strike from yesterday alleging the state government's indifference to their demands of better pay, security and work hours.

Petitioner Datta Mane mentioned the petition today before a division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice A K Menon which posted it for hearing on July 6.

The doctors had decided to go on strike in June but postponed it after intervention of the Medical Education Minister Vinod Tawde. MARD had presented the state with a charter of ten demands and had discussed the issue earlier this week with government officials.