MUMBAI, Sept. 10 -- The Saifee Hospital Trust has filed a defamation suit in the Bombay High Court against a first-year general surgery trainee, seeking Rs.125 crore in damages over two social media posts in which she alleged that the hospital and its doctors subjected medical trainees to illegal working hours, ragging, torture and mental harassment. The trust, which manages the premier hospital at Charni Road, has described the posts by Dr Asiya Khan Luqman as "completely false". It has alleged that the posts were intended to "arm-twist the hospital into [meeting] her personal demands". "The attempt to characterise the consequences of her own conduct as mental torture or harassment is an effort to evade accountability and shift the focus away from the trainee's own misconduct," the plea, filed on September 3, states. A single-judge bench of justice Arif Doctor has directed Luqman to refrain from publishing any defamatory posts on social media while the hearing is pending before it. The dispute stems from allegations concerning Luqman's attendance and conduct after she joined Saifee Hospital in February this year as a DNB (Diplomate of National Board) general surgery trainee. According to the trust, between March and May, Luqman took unauthorised leaves, which affected departmental functioning and patient care responsibilities. It also alleged that she showed a serious lack of attention to work and had an indifferent attitude. The trust said it issued Luqman several warnings and also reported a few incidents to the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS). It alleged that she had not attended to a single patient since May 20, was not found at her workplace during work hours, and had not responded to any of the memos seeking an explanation. On July 1, Luqman allegedly demanded that the hospital's medical director grant her Sundays off exclusively. The hospital declined her request. Luqman subsequently published two social media posts in which she alleged mental harassment by seniors and the hospital management, and tagged the Mumbai Police and police commissioner. Terming her allegations as baseless, the trust stated that Luqman "continuously displayed negligent, erratic and irresponsible" conduct. It said the alleged acts and omissions were serious and warranted disciplinary action. Advocate Satyam Singh, representing Luqman, told HT, "Raising a grievance against alleged workplace excesses, including duty hours contrary to prescribed norms, and approaching the competent academic and regulatory authorities for redressal does not, in law, amount to defamation. There is a clear and settled distinction between defamation on the one hand and the constitutionally protected right to freedom of speech and expression on the other, particularly where the object is to seek justice and enforcement of existing rules, and not to malign an institution"....