All-India Institute of Medical Sciences doctors protesting over the passage of a Bill fixing the retirement age of the institute director on Thursday called off their strike due to lack of consensus among medicos at the premier hospital.

"We had decided to follow the advice of the faculty, who have decided against the strike," general secretary of the AIIMS Resident Doctors' Association (RDA) Anil Sharma said.

The Delhi High Court on Thursday asked the government to cancel the licence of AIIMS doctors and deduct their salary if they went on with the strike.

The AIIMS faculty in a meeting decided against continuing with the strike.

The RDA had last evening decided to go on a strike and disrupt OPD services to protest against the passage of the Bill in the Rajya Sabha which will pave the way for easing out current Director P Venugopal, with whom Union Health and Family Welfare Minister has been involved in a bitter turf war.

The striking resident doctors had been directed by the hospital administration against continuing with the strike following Supreme Court directives on the matter.

"Though we have decided against the strike, we will continue a silent protest wherein the doctors will work overtime," Sharma said.

"We are basically protesting against a clause in the law which says that it would be implemented retrospectively," RDA president Kumar Harsh said.

The doctors would take out a silent march towards Rashtrapati Bhavan [Images] and submit a memorandum to President Pratibha Patil [Images] to protest against the Bill, he said.

"We would also sport black ribbon while working to register our protest," he added.