HYDERABAD: Justice N Tukaramji of the Telangana High Court has quashed multiple criminal cases registered against Ayush practitioners by the Telangana Medical Council (TMC), holding that the Council deviated from the prescribed procedure and failed to provide material particulars to support allegations of cheating and impersonation.
The court was hearing a batch of three criminal petitions filed by H Lokesh and others, who challenged FIRs registered against them in Cyberabad and Sangareddy police stations. The cases stemmed from a surprise inspection conducted by TMC officials on May 10, 2025, during which it was alleged that the petitioners, though qualified in Ayurveda (BAMS), were administering IV fluids, injections and prescribing allopathic medicines without requisite qualifications and proper statutory authorisation from relevant authorities.
Petitioners argued that they were duly registered under the Telangana Board of Indian Medicine and the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine Act, 2020, and their practice was protected under Section 17(3)(b) of the Indian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970. Rejecting TMC’s stand that the practitioners’ conduct amounted to quackery, the court clarified that registered Ayush practitioners prescribing modern medicine fall under a different regulatory category, where the Commissioner of Ayush is the competent authority to act. The court also noted that the FIRs did not mention any victims or instances of impersonation, thus failing to establish a prima facie case of cheating.