The Delhi high court has asked the central government and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences to submit a report by July 27 on the exodus of senior doctors from the premier institution.

A division bench comprising Justice R S Sodhi and Geeta Mittal, hearing a public interest litigation, issued a notice to the Centre through the Union health ministry and to AIIMS through its Director Dr P Venugopal.

The PIL wanted the court to direct the authorities to restrain doctors from agitating -- either for or against the management -- ignoring the interest of the patients during public hours.

The petition also requested the court to order the setting up of a committee, headed by a sitting high court judge, to prepare the guidelines and demarcate regulations clearly indicating the duties to be discharged by the AIIMS president and the director without any interference from each other.

While issuing the notice, the court observed that the world-renowned institute is in a mess.

Petitioner Vikash Jain said it was 'unthinkable' that the Union health minister would get involved with minor administrative affairs of an autonomous institution and order the transfer of officials on the sly, while the AIIMS director was on leave.

''But this is precisely what Dr Anbumani Ramadoss, true to his style of functioning, has done at AIIMS... the minister's gross interference would leave the AIIMS director or, for that matter, any self respecting director incandescent with rage,'' the PIL said.