AYUSH Doctors Shall Not Prescribe Any Medicine As Cure For Covid-19: Kerala HC Directs Medical/Police Departments To Monitor [Read Order]

AYUSH Doctors shall not prescribe tablets or mixtures as cure for COVID-19, but only as an immunity booster, observed Kerala High Court while disposing a PIL.

The bench comprising the Chief Justice S. Manikumar and Justice Shaji P. Chaly also directed the medical/Police Departments to monitor the action of AYUSH medical practitioners. 

A lawyer had approached the High Court seeking a direction to the State Government to implement a notification issued by Ministry of AYUSH to adopt Homeopathic system among other systems of medicines, in the fight against the menace of Coronavirus. According to him, if Homoeopathic medicines were given to all, more particularly to the people in highly affected districts, to those who are under observation, isolation and quarantine, this type of situation would not have happened.

Responding to this plea, the Government submitted before the Court that the Advisory of the Ministry of AYUSH is being followed by the Government and tablets are given free of cost to those persons as immunity boosters. As per the medical protocol of the Government, doctors practising in AYUSH medicines are not supposed to prescribe any medicines, stating that it is curative for COVID-19 disease, the Government stated before the Court.

Taking note of the notifications/orders issued by the state and centre, the bench observed that medical practitioners in AYUSH can prescribe the medicines, but only as immunity boosters. While disposing of the petition, the bench further observed:

We also make it clear that if any qualified doctor practising AYUSH medicine, makes any advertisement or prescribes any drugs or medicines, as a cure for COVID-19 disease, except those specifically mentioned in Annexure-I advisory to Exhibit-P1 D.O. letter dated 6.3.2020, it is open for the respondents to take appropriate action under the provisions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, and the orders of the Governments, both Central as well as the State, issued from time-to-time. Only those tablets or mixtures shall be given as immunity booster and not as cure for COVID-19. AYUSH medical practitioners are further directed not to violate the Government Order dated 6.3.2020. In this regard, Medical/Police Departments are also directed to monitor the action of AYUSH medical practitioners.

Case name: M.S.VINEETH vs. STATE OF KERALA
Case no.:  W.P.(C) No. 9459 of 2020 
Coram: Chief Justice S. Manikumar and Justice Shaji P. Chaly
Counsel:  Adv V.T.MADHAVANUNNI for the petitioner 

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