Time To Pull Curtain Down On People Practicing Medicine Without Qualification: Karnataka HC While Upholding Refusal Of Registration To Clinic

The bench noted that the petitioner had Diploma in Community Medical Services with Essential Drugs (a paramedical course), where the Diploma is conferred by the Indian Council of Medico Technicals and Health Care, a society registered under the Societies Registration Adhiniyam, Kanpur.

Accordingly, while holding it to be necessity in the ‘jugglery’, a bench of Justice M. Nagaprasanna observed, “…no fault can be found with the endorsement issued to the petitioner rejecting his application for registration under the Act. The 17 endorsement also notices that the clinic of the petitioner would be seized and the seizure would be axiomatic, as it is a consequence of non-registration of the clinic by a doctor who has no qualification. It is rather strange as to how the petitioner addresses himself as a practicing doctor for all these years. Time has come to pull the curtain down on such people who are practicing medicine without qualification and hoodwinking poor people in rural areas”.

Advocate Prakasha M appeared for the petitioner and AGA Navya Shekhar appeared for the respondent.

Through the petition, quashment of an endorsement issued by the District Health & Family Welfare Officer and Member Secretary of the Committee of Registration under the Karnataka Private Medical Establishments Act 2007 was sought for, where it had declined to issue registration certificate to the petitioner’s Sangeetha Clinic.

The petitioner had claimed to be a medical practitioner practicing in various forms of medicine. He had averred that he has completed community medical service course – C.M.S. course and has obtained CMS-ED certificate from the Central Paramedical Education Board, Mumbai which he claims to be under the World Health Organization directive or guidelines.

He had further averred in the petition that he has taken training in paramedical course at Delhi and on the strength of the aforesaid certificate that he possesses begins a clinic in the name and style of Sangeetha Clinic at Mini Ibrahim Road, KGF, Bangarpet Taluk and claims to be practicing from several years.

As per the Act, a medical practitioner who wants to set up a private practice must apply under the Act and once registration is approved he would be entitled to practice.

The respondents vehemently opposed the submissions arguing that such doctors are practicing allopathy without there being any qualification to so practice.

Consequentially, on finding no merit in the matter, the bench held, “The petitioner is not a medical practitioner. He is a para medical practitioner. Being a para medical practitioner, he is not entitled to any registration under the Act, which is sine qua non for continuation of practice as a medical practitioner. He is not a doctor as defined under the Act. He is also not one of those practitioners as defined under the Act. Without being so, he claims to have practiced for ages now at Kolar and would obviously be even prescribing medicine. His practice as averred in the petition is allopathy as well and calls himself a doctor”.

Cause Title: Sri. Dr. Annaiah. N v. The State Of Karnataka

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