New Delhi, Jan 12: 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, similar to allopathic doctors.
The public interest litigation (PIL), filed by law student Nitin Upadhyay and represented by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay, also seeks the constitution of an expert committee to review and update the schedule of the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954, in line with modern scientific developments.
The bench, comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, took note of the submissions and issued notices on the PIL. In a lighter moment, the CJI asked the lawyer,
“Is he your son?”
To which Upadhyay replied, “Yes.”
“We thought he will get some gold medal etc. but he is filing PILs now. Why don’t you study now? … Issue notice. Only for your son. So that he studies well,” the bench remarked.
Key Demands of the PIL
The plea highlights that AYUSH doctors are not currently covered under Section 2(cc) of the DMR Act, which defines ‘registered medical practitioners.’ The Act, designed to curb false and misleading medical advertisements, places a blanket ban under Section 3(d) on advertisements for certain diseases and conditions.
The PIL argues that this ban prevents AYUSH doctors from legally sharing truthful, scientifically-backed information on medications for serious ailments, leading to public ignorance.
“The right to information regarding diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of life-threatening chronic diseases has been overridden by a grossly disproportionate prohibition of advertisements through an archaic law,” the plea states.
It further seeks a review of the Act through an expert committee to ensure that legitimate, non-deceptive medical information from AYUSH and other non-allopathic practitioners can be disseminated to the public without violating the law.