SC Seeks Centre’s Reply On Status Of Ayush Doctors

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday sought responses from the Union ministries of law, health, and AYUSH on a plea seeking a direction to declare AYUSH doctors as “registered medical practitioners” under the law, on par with allopathic doctors.

The court issued notices after hearing a public interest litigation that also sought the constitution of an expert committee to review and update the schedule to the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954, in line with present-day scientific developments.

A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi took note of submissions by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay, appearing for the petitioner, law student Nitin Upadhyay, and issued notices on the plea.

During the hearing, the bench made brief remarks while issuing notice, observing that the matter raised legal questions warranting a response from the Centre.

The plea seeks a declaration that AYUSH doctors are covered under Section 2(cc) of the 1954 Act as “registered medical practitioners.” The Act aims to regulate advertisements of drugs in certain cases and prohibit advertisements for remedies claimed to have “magic” qualities.

Section 2(cc) defines “registered medical practitioner,” while Section 3 of the Act prohibits advertisements of certain drugs for the treatment of specified diseases and disorders. The petitioner contended that Section 3(d) imposes a blanket ban on advertisements relating to certain diseases without distinguishing between misleading claims and truthful, evidence-based medical information.

It was argued that since AYUSH doctors and other non-allopathic registered practitioners are not covered by the exception under Section 14 of the Act, they are effectively barred from advertising the availability of medicines for serious ailments, leading to public ignorance about such treatments.

The plea also sought a direction to the Centre to constitute an expert committee to review, revise, and update the Act’s schedule in accordance with contemporary scientific advances and evidence-based medical knowledge.