Seeking a clear-cut answer from the court for the question who should prescribe modern medicine, a retail pharmacist from Nandurbar district in Maharashtra plans to file a writ petition with the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court.

Vinaya Kumar Shroff, one of the leaders of chemist association in the district will file the petition in this regard on Monday, August 5, he told Pharmabiz.

He has decided to file the petition because of the decision of the Maharashtra government to promulgate an ordinance in the next winter session of the assembly to allow practitioners of Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy prescribe allopathic drugs. He is filing the case through the practicing lawyer in Delhi, Dr M C Gupta, the medico-legal expert and former professor & dean, NIHFW, New Delhi.

The government of Maharashtra has now taken the decision on the basis of a government notification dated 25 -11 – 1992 under section 33 of the Maharashtra Medical Practitioners Act, 1961. The notification says that ayurvedic practitioners enrolled on the State Register of Practitioners of Indian Medicine holding qualification specified in Parts A, B, A-1 of the Schedule appended to the Act shall be eligible to practice the modern system of medicine which is known as allopathic system of medicine ,to the extent of the training they received in that system. On account of this notification the government had in last year made it clear that doctors wanting to practice allopathy should study pharmacology for a full year term. The petitioner will also challenge the gazette notification of November 1992.

While speaking to Pharmabiz, Shroff said he is selling allopathic drugs on the prescriptions of many ayurvedic and homeopathic practitioners. “Eighty percent of the ayurvedic doctors and ninety percent of the homeopathic practitioners prescribe only allopathic medicines. I am a pharmacist. I want the law to be implemented in proper way. For the purpose of business I am selling drugs on their prescriptions. The Act says allopathic drugs should be sold on the prescription of modern medical practitioners. Now I am in confusion, on whose prescription I should dispense modern drugs. The court should give me a clear cut answer,” the petitioner said.

The advocate Dr MC Gupta said the Maharashtra Medical Council will also join the case as a co-petitioner. However, he alleged that when Shroff approached the state medical association leaders to support him for filing the petition, no positive nod received from any corner.

The government of Maharashtra decided to permit the Ayush practitioners to practice modern medicine on account of the crisis created by the shortage of allopathic doctors in rural areas in Maharashtra. To this argument of the government Dr Gupta said the government has been unnecessarily blaming MBBS doctors that they do not work in the villages. The government needs to create more government jobs with proper pay scale and living conditions if they want MBBS doctors to work in rural areas.