SC issues new directives for Medicine Council

The Supreme Court has directed that no elected member of the Central Council of Indian Medicine related to Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani can hold the office of president or vice-president beyond three months after the expiry of their five-year term.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice S H Kapadia passed a slew of directions on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by K B Nagur contending that the Central government had failed to hold elections for the Central Council of Indian system of Medicine for long.

The Central Council of Indian Medicine is a statutory body constituted under Section 3 of the Indian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970, to regulate education, practice and treatment of thousands of patients under the Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani systems.

“We hereby mandate that the Central government shall discharge all its duties and functions as contemplated under Sections 3, 4 and 7 of the Indian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970, without default, delay and within the required intervals. We make it clear that it is the obligation of the Central government to hold election to the Central Council within the period of five years i.e., before expiry of, the term of office of the president/ vice-president and member of the Central Council, as provided under Section 7 of the Act,” the bench said.

Nagur, the petitioner, submitted that the Central government could not perform its duty to hold the elections for the Central Council in different states.

“We cannot understand any reason whatsoever for the Central government not to perform its statutory duties, particularly when it concerns with the systems of medicine catering to a country of one billion people.