The practitioner of 'Bharatiya Chikitsa' - Indian System of Medicine - such as Ayurveda, Siddha, Tibb and Unani medicine cannot practise modern scientific system of medicine including prescribing allopathic medicines, the Delhi High Court has said.A division bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice Rrajiv Sahai Endlaw said that allowing persons not holding qualification in modern scientific system of medicine to practise this system of medicine can play "havoc with the health and lives of citizens" of the city.The order said: "Allowing persons not holding qualification in modern scientific system of medicine to practise the said system of medicine... can play havoc with the health and lives of citizens of the city.
" The court's order came on a petition filed by Delhi Medical Association (DMA), which is an association of registered medical practitioners of Allopathic System of Medicine affiliated to the Indian Medical Association (IMA), saying practitioners of 'Bharatiya Chikitsa' in the capital were prescribing allopathic drugs, jeopardizing the health of residents of the city.It said that the Delhi Bharatiya Chikitsa Parishad (DBCP) was relying on a Section of DBCP Act defining "integrated medicine" to claim that its members are entitled to prescribe allopathic drugs.
In the order, t e court said those having qualification in "integrated medicine" under the DBCP Act could make use of the modern advances in various sciences such as Radiology Report, X-Ray, Complete Blood Picture Report, Li pids report, E.C.Ga for purposes of practicing in the Indian system of medicine."To hold otherwise would blur the otherwise well defined boundaries between the two systems of medicine," it added.The bench further said: "No practitioner of Indian System of Medicine or holding a qualification as listed in the Schedule to the Indian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970, even if it be of in integrated medicine... of the DBCP Act, 1998, is entitled to practice modern scientific system."