Telangana Medical Council can’t File Cases on Ayush Docs: HC

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court has faulted the Telangana State Medical Council (TMC) for directly lodging criminal cases against Ayush doctors for allegedly practicing allopathic medicine without authorisation. While affirming that practitioners of Indian medicine are not entitled to prescribe allopathic drugs, the court made it clear that the commissioner of AYUSH is the competent authority to take action against such violations, not the TMC.

Justice N. Tukaramji was hearing three petitions filed by Ayush doctors facing charges of cheating, impersonation and illegal practice. Police in Sangareddy and Kukatpally had registered cases based on complaints from the TMC, which alleged that the petitioners were administering IV fluids, injections and modern medicines without MBBS qualifications, in violation of the Medical Practitioners Registration Act. The complaints were filed by the TMC registrar and vigilance officers.

Senior counsel B. Chandrasen Reddy, along with advocate-on-record Vamshidhar Reddy, argued that registering criminal cases without a preliminary inquiry amounted to abuse of process. The petitioners, they said, hold valid registrations with the Telangana Board of Indian Medicine and under the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine Act, 2020. Their clinics are legally recognised, their training included hospital internships and they had never claimed to be MBBS doctors.

The defence also cited Section 17(3)(b) of the Indian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970, a 1996 notification of the Central Council of Indian Medicine, and a 2017 AYUSH memorandum, all of which provide limited rights to Ayurvedic practitioners to use certain modern medicine practices. They further contended that the TMC has no suo motu power to prosecute and must route action through the commissioner of AYUSH.

The TMC, however, maintained that Ayush practitioners are prohibited by law from prescribing modern medicines. The court held that the TMC had deviated from the mandatory procedure, noting that complaints should have first been referred to the AYUSH commissioner. It also observed that the cases lacked specific details to substantiate allegations of impersonation or cheating.

On these grounds, the High Court quashed the criminal proceedings, but clarified that the Council may proceed afresh if it follows the proper legal framework and produces adequate evidence.