Court orders action against quackery

Court orders action against quackery

The Madras High Court verdict has said that the Indian Medical Association (IMA) may furnish the names of all those who are prescribing allopathic medicine without a valid licence, and using the prefix Dr to their names, to the Deputy Superintendent of Police and the District Medical Officer (DMO) concerned. The news was published in the Chennai edition of The Hindu, Wednesday, February 24, 2010.

On behalf of the government, the court was assured that the authorities concerned would take necessary steps.

The First Bench, consisting of Chief Justice H L, Gokhale and Justice K K Sasidharan, passed the order while disposing of a writ petition by the IMA, represented by K Prakasam, Chairman, IMA Quackery Eradication Committee, Tamil Nadu State Branch.

The petitioner sought a direction to the official authorities to consider the representations sent last year and initiate criminal prosecution against paramedical technicians, paramedical practitioners and physiotherapists who are prescribing allopathic medicine and administering allopathic treatment and using ‘Dr.’ before their names in prescriptions and advertisements.

In its order, the Bench said when a similar matter came up before the High Court and it disposed off the petition on January 5, directing the petitioner to furnish to the authorities the names of those who were allegedly practising medicine without a valid licence.

The authorities were directed to take action against such persons on receiving the information.

Similarly, the IMA may also furnish the names of such persons to the police and the DMO concerned.