The Supreme Court on Wednesday held that
practitioners of alternative systems of medicine such as Ayurveda are not
entitled to equal pay with allopathic doctors as they not are involved in
performing emergency duties and complicated surgeries.
Setting aside a Gujarat High Court order, the top
court said the emergency duty that allopathy doctors are capable of performing
and the trauma care that they are able to provide cannot be performed by
Ayurveda practitioners.
It noted that even post-mortem or autopsy is not
carried out by Ayurveda practitioners.
The apex court was hearing a batch of appeals
challenging a 2012 Gujarat High Court order which had held that Ayurveda
practitioners are entitled to be treated at par with doctors with MBBS degrees.
While recognising the importance of Ayurveda
practitioners and the need to promote alternative or indigenous systems of
medicine, the top court said that it cannot be oblivious of the fact that both
categories of doctors are certainly not performing equal work to be entitled to
equal pay.
A bench of Justice V Ramasubramanian and Justice
Pankaj Mithal said allopathy doctors are required to perform emergency duties
and provide trauma care.
"By the very nature of the science that they
practise and with the advancement of science and modern medical technology, the
emergency duty that allopathy doctors are capable of performing and the trauma
care that they are capable of providing cannot be performed by Ayurveda
doctors," it said.
The apex court said it is also not possible for
Ayurveda practitioners to assist surgeons performing complicated surgeries
while doctors with MBBS degrees can perform the task.
"We shall not be understood to mean as though
one system of medicine is superior to the other. It is not our mandate nor
within our competence to assess the relative merits of these two systems of
medical sciences. As a matter of fact, we are conscious that the history of
Ayurveda dates back to several centuries.
"We have no doubt that every alternative system
of medicine may have its pride of place in history. But today, the practitioners
of indigenous systems of medicine do not perform complicated surgical
operations. A study of Ayurveda does not authorise them to perform these
surgeries. Similarly, a post-mortem or autopsy is not carried out by/in the
presence of Ayurveda doctors," it said.
The apex court said it is common knowledge that
during out-patient days in general hospitals in cities or towns, doctors with
MBBS degrees are made to attend to hundreds of patients, which is not the case
for Ayurveda practitioners.
"Therefore, even while recognising the
importance of Ayurveda doctors and the need to promote alternative/indigenous
systems of medicine, we cannot be oblivious of the fact that both categories of
doctors are certainly not performing equal work to be entitled to equal
pay," it said.