The Bombay high court has rejected a petition that was filed seeking an interim stay on the Maharashtra government’s decision to introduce a one-year course on modern pharmacology for homeopathic and ayurvedic doctors. The course will allow these doctors to practice allopathic medicine.
The Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) will now frame a one-year course for homeopathic doctors, after which they can prescribe allopathic medicines.
Supporting the state government’s decision, Advocate General (AG) Sunil Manohar informed the court that in Maharashtra there should be a ratio of one doctor for every 400 citizens. However, in reality there is one doctor for 1,700 people and the situation is really bad in rural areas. He further said that homeopathic and ayurvedic doctors are allowed to practise allopathy only till the extent of the training they have received. The idea to allow them allopathic practice is to bring the ratio of doctors and citizens to a proper level because mostly homeopathic, and to an extent ayurvedic, doctors cover rural areas.
Homeopathic doctors are allowed to perform primary surgeries, primary health care and emergency care. They cannot practise super specialty treatments like cardiothoracic surgeries, cancer surgeries and cancer medicines, among others.
The court was informed that ayurvedic doctors are provided training in handling allopathic medicines at post-graduation and internship levels and homeopaths have to complete one or two years’ course to practise allopathy to a limited extent.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA), Maharashtra branch, with support from the Maharashtra Medical Council and the Indian Medical Council, challenged a 1992 state government resolution (GR) — which allowed homeopathic and ayurvedic doctors to practise allopathy as per their “training in the particular field” — and the recent decision of introducing short-term pharmcology courses, on the grounds that this practice would be misused by many doctors.
The AG, however, submitted before the division bench of Justice A.S. Oka and Justice A.S. Gadkari that the reason behind this decision is to provide basic medical facilities to people, especially in rural areas, and it will be too early to say that the scheme would be misused. He added that if the state government notices any misuse it will curb it or if required, will take back the GR.
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