Take Steps To Implement National Commission For Allied & Healthcare Professions Act : Supreme Court To Centre, States

The Supreme Court today (August 12) directed the Union Health Ministry to convene an online meeting with all the State Secretaries of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to chalk-out a road map for implementation of the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions (NCAHP) Act, 2021 within 2 weeks.

The bench comprising CJI DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra was hearing the plea seeking the implementation of the NCAHP Act 2021.

The CJI noted that despite the Act being in force for 3-4 years, many of its provisions have not been implemented. Out of 28 states and union territories, only 14 have set up state councils. Even these councils are not functioning properly.

The court expressed concerns about the growing number of unregulated institutes in the healthcare sector. It stressed that the Act was meant to create a legal framework to control this growth, but both the Union and state governments have failed to fulfill their duties in the three years since the Act was passed.

"Though this court entertained the petition in September 2023, the fact remains that provisions of the act are still not implemented. The proliferation of the illegal allied health care educational institutions and bodies is matter of serious concern.

The parliamentary legislation was intended to provide a legislative framework to protect the public interest against the proliferation of illegal institutional bodies .Despite the passage of three years, both the Union Government and the State Governments have completely failed to discharge their statutory responsibilities."

The petition specifically seeks for the implementation of Section 22(1) which provides for the establishment of professional councils and state allied and healthcare councils.

The bench issued the following directions to rectify the above concerns: (1) The Union and state governments must take steps to implement the Act within two months; (2)The Health Ministry is to hold an online meeting with all state Family Welfare secretaries within two weeks to create a plan for implementing the Act; (3) All states must set up the required infrastructure and make the Act's provisions work in both letter and spirit.

The order stated as follows:

"We direct - (1) Union and States within 2 months take necessary steps to implement the Act; (2) The Health Ministry shall within 2 weeks convene online meeting of all the secretaries of State For Heath and Family Welfare to lay down roadmap to implement the Acts; (3) infrastructure is set up by all states and provisions are made functional not only in letter and spirit "

The Court had also directed all states and union territories to submit a compliance report in a compiled, table format for the next hearing. The Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Vikramjit Banerjee appearing for the Union was been given two weeks to file a counter-affidavit.

The CJI has also allowed for the chairperson of the National Commission to be included in future proceedings.

Background

The PIL has been filed by the Joint Forum of Medical Technologists of India (JFMTI). It asserts that even though the NCAHP Act came into force on May 25, 2021, even after two years, its provisions had not been implemented. According to the petitioners, as per the initial timeline, the State Councils should have been constituted within six months. However, the Central Government repeatedly extended the timeline for its implementation and granted five such extensions due to which the Act was still not implemented.

Further, the PIL submits that the absence of an institutional framework for certifying degrees and diplomas from recognized institutions posed a hurdle for job opportunities and thus, the need for standardizing syllabi, curricula, teaching staff, and institutions had become evident. This is what lead to the proposal for the establishment of a council to set standards for previously unregulated categories.

It may be noted that a similar plea had also been filed in 2021. The said plea sought for the implementation of the Act to enable ordinary people, particularly rural people, to differentiate between doctors of Modern Medicine (Registered Medical Practitioners under the Indian Medical Council Act) and Rural/Private Medical Practitioners.

Case Details : Joint Forum Of Medical Technologists Of India (Jfmti) & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors. [W.P.(C) No. 983/2023]