HC: No addl certificate needed for MD anaesthesiology docs

HC: No addl certificate needed for MD anaesthesiology docs

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 21.01.2026

Bengaluru : The high court has held that a medical doctor with a three-year MD degree in anaesthesiology qualifies as a registered medical practitioner under Rule 2(iv) (ib) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Rules and could thus be nominated as a designated doctor. The ruling came while allowing a joint petition filed by the Mangaluru branch of Indian Society of Anaesthesiologists, the Nursing Home and Hospital Management Association, Mangaluru, and Mangala Hospital and Mangala Kidney Foundation, Mangaluru. 

Mangala Hospital had challenged a June 27, 2025 communication from the assistant drugs controller of Mangaluru, refusing to renew its licence on grounds that the designated doctor — though an MD in anaesthesiology — lacked a certificate in pain relief and palliative care for opioid-dependence treatment. The official had indicated that the licence would be renewed if such a certificate was produced. The hospital claimed that MD anaesthesiology training inherently includes structured instruction in pain management, palliative care, and opioid-based therapy, including clinical use of narcotic analgesics, as mandated in the curriculum. It added that there was no statutory or regulatory requirement under the governing medical or narcotics control framework mandating the acquisition of any separate or additional certificate for a medical practitioner so qualified to provide pain relief, palliative care, or opioid-based treatment. 

On the other hand, the state govt defended its action, contending that the rules mandated possession of such training as a prerequisite. However, deputy solicitor general H Shanthi Bhushan, appearing for the central govt, submitted that a degree in MD anaesthesiology was a recognised postgraduate qualification under National Medical Commission (NMC) and inherently satisfied the requirement under Rule 52N of the NDPS Rules, 1985, for registered medical practitioners to possess, prescribe, and dispense  essential narcotic drugs for pain relief and palliative care. He also submitted that no additional training was required for MD anaesthesiology holders to obtain an additional certificate or training in terms of Form 3F of the NDPS Rules. 

He also placed on record the opinion of subject expert Dr Atul Ambekar, professor, National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre, and department of psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. After perusing the materials on record, Justice Suraj Govindaraj pointed out that the central govt itself had categorically come to the conclusion that a registered medical practitioner holding an MD (anaesthesiology) degree does not require supplementary training in order to prescribe essential narcotic drugs for palliative care and pain management. Allowing the petition, the judge directed the assistant drugs controller, Mangaluru, to consider the qualification of the nominated doctor as sufficient and issue the necessary certificate of licence renewal to Mangala Hospital.