MADRAS:Â In the case of Dr.R.Senthilkumar v. The State and others, The Madras High Court recently quashed criminal proceedings against a doctor who was registered under Homoeopathy Medical Council who was found practicing in Allopathy Medicine. The court however cautioned that such persons cannot exclusively practice Allopathy medicine. It observed that Homeopathy, Ayurveda, Siddha, and Unani practitioners who are registered in the Tamil Nadu Board of Indian Medicine are eligible to practice in the respective system with Allopathy based on the training and teaching they had in the Course.
The Bench headed by Justice Teeka Raman was hearing a plea for quashing the criminal proceedings against a doctor for the offenses of cheating and for violating the provisions of the Indian Medical Council Act 1956.
The petitioner argued that he had completed the Bachelor of Homoeopathic Medicine and Surgery (BHMS) and had registered himself in the Tamil Nadu Homoeopathy Medical Council.
Mr.V.Prakash Babu is appearing on the behalf of a petitioner while Mr.S.Udaya Kumar, Government Advocate appearing for the respondent.
Thus, the petitioner was a registered medical practitioner in the Indian system of medicine. The petitioner also cited a circular issued by the Health and Family Welfare Department, Government of Tamil Nadu dated 15.10.2010 wherein it was held that “the institutionally qualified Practitioners of Ayurveda, Siddha, and Unani, who are registered in the Tamil Nadu Board of Indian Medicine, Chennai are eligible to practice in the respective system with Allopathy based on the training and teaching they had in the Course. But they cannot exclusively do the practice in Allopathy Medicine.”
The petitioners also brought to the notice of the court another circular wherein the Government had held that as per section 17(3) B of the Indian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970 the institutionally qualified practitioners of Siddha, Ayurveda, and Unani Tibb Homeopathy are eligible to practice respective systems with modern scientific medicine including Surgery and Gynecology Obstetrics, Anesthesiology, ENT, Opthalmology, etc based on the training and teaching.
In the above circular, the Government had also directed the Commissioners of Police and Deputy Inspector General of Police, and Superintendents of Police to instruct the police officers in all cities and districts not to intervene with the practice of registered practitioners of Siddha, Ayurveda, Unani, Homeopathy, and Naturopathy who are registered in the Tamil Nadu Siddha Medical Council, Tamil Nadu Board of Indian Medicine and Tamil Nadu Homeopathy Medical Council.
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