ASN 1 WP-794.sxw IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY ORDINARY ORIGINAL CIVIL JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION NO. 794 OF 2006 LCEH Doctors Association and ors. ..Petitioners Vs State of Maharashtra and ors. ..Respondents Mr.Ramchandra Yadav for the Petitioners. Mr.G.W.Mattos, A.G.P. For the Respondents. CORAM : MOHIT S. SHAH, C.J. & S.J. KATHAWALLA, J. Monday, November 15, 2010. PC : In this petition under Article 227 of the Constitution of India, LCEH Doctors Association (Licentiate of the Court of Examiners in Homeopathy) and two of its members have prayed for a direction to the State of Maharashtra and the Secretary, Medical Education Department to declare that the medical practitioners having qualification of LCEH be recognized as persons practicing the modern scientific system of medicine for the purpose of Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945. The petitioners have also challenged the circular dated 4th February, 2002 (Exhibit-G) issued by the Government of Maharashtra, Medical Education and Food and Drugs Department by which the Government directed all the appropriate officers that Homeopathic practitioners who are holding a Homeopathy qualification and license under the Maharashtra Homeopathic Practitioners’ Act, 1959 shall practice only homeopathy practice. The ASN 2 WP-794.sxw petitioners have also prayed for a direction to the authorities to recognize LCEH as one of the qualification under Section 28 of the Maharashtra Medical Council Act, 1965 and under the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 for granting registration under the said Act of 1965. The petitioners have also prayed for other ancillary reliefs. 2 In the affidavit in reply dated 1st March, 2006 the stand adopted by the Dy. Secretary of the Government of Maharashtra is that Allopathy and Homeopathy are different courses and that the holders of the qualification LCEH are not entitled to be registered under the Maharashtra Medical Council Act,1965 or under the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956. 3 The petitioners have placed reliance on a letter dated 27th October, 2009- Annexure-3 to the additional affidavit dated 2nd December, 2009 filed by the Secretary of Petitioner No.1 Association. In the said letter, the Director of the Medical Education appears to have made a suggestion that Homeopathic practitioners who have completed the study prior to 1982 may be permitted to do allopathy practice. 4 In response to query from the court Mr. Mattos, learned Additional Government Pleader states that there are no instructions from the Government as regards the subsequent decision, if any, taken by the Government in pursuance of the aforesaid recommendation of the Director of Medical Education. 5 In view of above state of affairs, we are of the view that the ASN 3 WP-794.sxw petition deserves to be disposed of with a direction to the State Government and the Medical Education Department to take final decision on the issues sought to be raised in this writ petition. 6 The petition is accordingly disposed of with a direction to the State Government and the Medical Education Department to take the decision on the question of entitlement or otherwise of the Homeopathic doctors, who obtained their qualification in LCEH prior to 1982, to practice in any other branch of medicine, as expeditiously as possible and preferably within a period of four months. 7 It is clarified that we have not gone into the merits of the controversy sought to be raised in this petition and the aforesaid direction may not be treated as decision on the question one way or the other. 8 Subject to the above direction and clarification, the petition is disposed of. CHIEF JUSTICE S.J. KATHAWALLA, J.