The Mumbai High Court on Thursday reserved its verdict on a petition challenging Maharashtra provisions that allow homeopathy doctors who complete the Certificate Course in Modern Pharmacology (CCMP) to provide allopathic medical services in the state.
The petition has been filed by the Indian Medical Association (IMA), which has primarily challenged amendments made in 2014 to the Maharashtra Medical Council Act and the Maharashtra Medical Practitioners Act. The amendments enabled the CCMP course and created a framework under which trained homeopathy practitioners could offer services in modern medicine.
A division bench comprising Justices Riyaz Chagla and Farhan Dubash was hearing the petition. During Thursday’s hearing, the court recorded that arguments from all sides had been completed and reserved its decision.
The state government opposed the petition’s maintainability and constitutional challenge. Appearing for the government, Advocate General Milind Sathe argued that the IMA is a voluntary association of doctors and had failed to demonstrate how the amendments caused it a specific legal injury.
According to the arguments reported before the court, the government also contended that an organisation could not challenge the constitutional validity of legislation merely because it disagreed with its provisions. The state further argued that the petition was not based on an alleged violation of doctors’ fundamental right to practise a profession under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution.
The government’s submissions also questioned whether the amendments had affected the services provided by allopathic doctors. It argued that the IMA had instead focused mainly on the state’s legislative competence to introduce the amendments.
The court’s order will determine the immediate legal position of the provisions governing CCMP-trained homeopathy doctors and their ability to provide allopathic services in Maharashtra. The verdict date was not specified in the report.
