IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION NO. 7057 OF 2007 WRIT PETITION NO. 7057 OF 2007 WRIT PETITION NO. 7057 OF 2007 Adhik Bandu Pawar & Ors. ...Petitioners V/s. Maharashtra Council of Indian Medicine & Ors. ...Respondents Mr.N.R. Bubna for the Petitioners. Mr.G.S. Gokhale, AGP for the Respondents. CORAM : D.K. DESHMUKH & CORAM : D.K. DESHMUKH & CORAM : D.K. DESHMUKH & V.M. KANADE, JJ. V.M. KANADE, JJ. V.M. KANADE, JJ. DATED : JANUARY 10, 2008 DATED : JANUARY 10, 2008 DATED : JANUARY 10, 2008 P.C. :- P.C. :- P.C. :- 1. The petitioner by this petition seeks a direction to the Government of Maharashtra that the petitioner could be permitted to practice Electropathy in the State of Maharashtra without any obstruction of any nature. The petitioner for this relief relies on paragraph 31 of the judgment of the Division Bench of this Court in Writ Petition No.5526/1995 (Shri Nageshwar Basantram Dubey V/s. The Union of India & Ors.) and other connected petitions decided on 22nd December, 2006. That paragraph reads as under : "31. For the aforesaid reasons, we find no - 2 - merit in the present petitions. Therefore, all the petitions stand dismissed. However, it is made clear that as far as the petitioners, who claim to hold degree or diploma in Electropathy or Homeo-Electropathy, may practice in Electropathy or Electrotherapy without registration as medical practitioners in view of proviso to sub-section (2) section 2 of the Maharashtra Medical Practitioners Act. At the same time it is also made clear that they will not be entitled to practice as or claim to be medical practitioners, doctors etc. nor they are entitled to use any title, like Dr. or any abbreviations prefixing or suffixing their names which may indicate that they Doctors or Medical Practitioners. If they violate the provisions of law, necessary action including prosecution may follow as per the provisions of Maharashtra Medical Practitioners Act, 1961." 2. Perusal of the above paragraph shows that persons who are practicing Electropathy can practice without registration but not as Medical practicioner. This observations are based on said sub-section 2 of Section 2 of the Maharashtra Medical Practitioners Act. Sub-section 2 of Section 2 of the Medical Practitioners Act reads as under :- "For the purposes of Chapter VI, a person shall be deemed to practice any system of medicine who holds himself out as being able to diagnose, treat, operate or prescribe medicine or other remedy or to give medicine for any ailment, - 3 - desease, injury, paid, deformity or physical condition or who, by any advertisement, demonstration, exhibition or teaching offers or undertakes, by any means or method whatsoever to diagnose, treat, operate or prescribe medicine or other remedy or to give medicine for any ailment, disease, injury, pain, deformity or physical condition : Provided that, a person who- (i) mechanically fits or sells lense, artificial eyes, limbs or other apparatus or appliances; or (ii) is engaged in the mechanical examination of eyes for the purpose of constructing or adjusting spectacles, eye-glasses or lense; or (iii) practises physio-therapy or electro-therapy or chiripody or naturopathy or hydropathy or yogic healing; or (iv) without personal gain furnishes medical treatment or does domestic administration of family remedies; or (v) being registered under the Dentists Act, 1948, limits his practice to the art of dentistry; or (vi) being a nurse, midwife or health visitor registered or enlisted under the Bombay Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors Act, 1954, or any other corresponding law for the time being in force in the State or a Dai attends on a case of labour, shall not be deemed to practise medicine. Explanation.-In this sub-section- (i) "advertisement" includes any word, letter, notice, circular, picture, illustration, model, sign, playcard, board or other document and any - 4 - announcement made orally or by any means of producing or transmitting light, sound, smoke or other audible or visible representation; and (ii) "physio-therapy" means treatment of any ailment, disease, injury, pain, deformity or physical condition, by message or other physical means, but does not include bone-setting." 3. Perusal of the above provision shows that what is contemplated by this provision is Electrotherapy and not Electropathy. Therefore, obviously, in the above quoted paragraph of the judgment, the word ’Electropathy’ has been used by mistake instead of the word ’Electrotherapy’. It is not the case of the petitioner that they are practicing Electrotherapy. We asked the learned Counsel for the petitioner that what is the difference between persons practicing Electropathy and Electrotherapy. He expressed his inability to explain the same. In our opinion, as the mandate of provisions of Sub-section 2 of Section 2 is clear, in our opinion, the petition can not be entertained. 4. Petition is rejected. - 5 - (D.K. DESHMUKH, J.) (D.K. DESHMUKH, J.) (D.K. DESHMUKH, J.) (V.M. KANADE, J.) (V.M. KANADE, J.) (V.M. KANADE, J.)