CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has held that qualified Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani doctors can practise Allopathy medicine if they are well trained in the medical system but cannot practice it exclusively.
Quoting a 2010 circular issued by the TN Health and Family Welfare Department, Justice RMT Teekaa Raman said, “It has already been held that institutionally qualified practitioners of Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani, who are registered with the Tamil Nadu Board of Indian Medicine, are eligible to practise in the respective systems (along) with Allopathy based on training and teaching they had in the course.
But they cannot exclusively practice Allopathy medicine.” “The government has informed that as per Section 17(3) B of the Indian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970, institutionally qualified practitioners of Siddha, Ayurveda, Unani and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) are eligible to practise respective systems with modern scientific medicine including Surgery and Gynaecology Obstetrics, Anesthesiology, ENT, Opthalmology etc based on training and teaching,” the judge said quoting another circular issued by the DGP on registering cases against AYUSH doctors practising Allopathy.
The judge’s recent ruling in favour of AYUSH doctors practising Allopathy came on a petition filed by Dr R Senthilkumar, a registered Homoeopathy practitioner. He ran a clinic at Panamarathupatty in Salem district where he was alleged to have practised Allopathy and was booked by police in 2017. Subsequently, a chargesheet was filed before the judicial magistrate court-I in Salem. The petitioner had moved the HC to quash the chargesheet.
No proceeding can be initiated, rules court
While ordering quashing of the charge sheet, the judge said that taking the DGP’s circular into consideration, no proceeding can be initiated against registered practitioners of Indian Medicine who are eligible to practice their respective systems also with modern scientific medicine.
In view of the settled proposition of law and taking note of the factual position of the doctor, I have no hesitation to quash the charge sheet registered in CC No 8 2018 on the file of the judicial magistrate- I, Salem, the judge said in his order. The judge also referred to the order in the case CDJ 2010 MHC 6560 to rule in favour of AYUSH practitioners.