The
Madras High Court in a judgement has restrained
the Unani practitioners from practising allopathic
system and administering the modern medicines
to their patients.
The
Court found that the brief modern medical training
given to the integrated medicine graduates (Ayurveda,
Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathy) during their internship
was not for the purpose of practice or administer
allopathy or modern medicine. The training would
not qualify them to practice allopathy. It was
only as part of their curriculum to get their
degree in BUMS (Bachelor of Unani Medicine and
Surgery), they had undergone such training.
Two
Unani doctors, D Abdul Muneer and Jalees Ahmed
Siddiqi have filed two writ petitions in the court
seeking the court’s intervention to restrain
the police officials from preventing them from
practising in allopathic system. Justice K K Sasidharan
has dismissed both the petitions.
The
petitioners argued that they were qualified Unani
practitioners and said when they served as house-surgeons
they had undergone training in seven departments
of allopathy which include obstetrics, gynaecology,
surgery, paediatrics, general medicine, ENT and
ophthalmology. So they should be permitted to
do PG course in allopathy and practice that system.
But the Directorate of Medical Services submitted
an affidavit in the court that said Unani practitioners
were not entitled to practice the system of allopathy
When contacted Dr Amir Jahan, a senior Unani doctor
in the city and a member of the Association of
Integrated Systems of Medicine, said every branch
of treatment has its own council and the practitioners
of each system should confine to their branches
only.
“We
have been demanding only one thing and the legal
battle is going on for years. Why do the allopathy
graduates practice Ayurveda or Unani or homoeopathy
methods after doing their PG in ISM? They are
(MBBS Graduates) getting lateral entry for PG
courses of Ayurveda or Unani. But the BUMS are
not allowed to get admission to MD or MS allopathy.
So we don’t like others to enter into our
field,” he told While dismissing the petitions,
the judge observed that the petitioners were taking
advantage of the brief training they received
during their internship for six months. The training
during the course of house surgeon ship was only
for the purpose of completing the course as per
the regulations.
Recently,
in some parts of the state the police have raided
some of the clinics of Unani doctors on account
of their practice in allopathic medicine along
with Unani medicine.
