Homoeopathy Effective But Expert Bodies Like ICMR Best Judge Of Medical Protocol In Pandemic: Delhi High Court

Dismissing a public interest litigation seeking directions for permitting homoeopathic treatment of mild COVID-19 cases, the Delhi High Court Tuesday said expert bodies like Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) are the best judge to decide and accord approval in respect of medical protocol.

"It is not for the Courts to comment upon the medical protocols and the guidelines framed on the subject which are, in fact, issued after great research on the subject," the division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad said in the judgement pronounced today.

Observing that COVID-19 infections have almost come to an end, the court said it does not find any reason to allow the relief prayed for by two homeopathic physicians, seeking directions for allowing treatment of mild COVID-19 cases with Homeopathic medicines alone and for severe cases to critical cases, as add-on therapy with allopathic medicine in hospitals, if desired by the patient.

However, the court added that the petitioners shall be free to go ahead with their research or drug trials strictly in accordance with law.

"This Court at this juncture does not find any reason to grant relief as prayed for by the Petitioners. However, the Petitioners shall certainly be free to conduct a drug trial by following statutory provisions of law specially keeping in view the affidavit filed by Respondent No.2 i.e. CCRH. The Petitioners have not been stopped by any authority to conduct research, and the affidavit filed by the Respondent No.2 makes it very clear that a procedure has been laid down for conducting clinical trials, and nobody has prevented the Petitioners to conduct clinical trials and to obtain necessary permission required under the law," the court said.

The petitioners had approached the court in 2020 with a prayer that Ministry of AYUSH be directed to "notify Arsenicum album – Phosphorus – Tuberculinum (APT) in series intervention protocol as second advisory supplementing the first advisory Arsenicum album 30 C as preventive for COVID – 19 on urgent basis"

The court in the judgment said "it is true" that homeopathic medicines "are very effective" and a large number of people throughout the world are availing such treatment. However, it added:

"...but in cases of pandemic, which protocol has to be validated by the Government should always be left to the discretion of the Government. Decision of the Government in such scenarios is based upon expert opinions and the experts are certainly the masters of the field."

The court further said the government through its medical protocol was able to control the pandemic and has been able to vaccinate a very large majority of the population. All kind of specialized treatments have been made "available to the last man in the society," it added.

Title: DR RAVI M NAIR & ANR. vs UNION OF INDIA & ANR.

Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Del) 1028

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