LI Network
Published on: 1 August 2023 at 14:00 IST
Several petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a recall or review of its previous judgment, which held that Ayurved doctors cannot claim equal pay as Allopathy doctors.
The bench, comprising Justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta, noted that Justice V. Ramasubramanian, the author of the earlier judgment, has retired.
The matter needs to be listed before a bench that includes Justice Pankaj Mithal, the other member of the bench that delivered the judgment. Consequently, the case was directed to be placed before the Chief Justice of India to decide on appropriate orders for listing.
During the hearing of a writ petition under Article 32 filed by medical officers (Ayurveda), along with miscellaneous applications and review petitions by affected persons and the National Commission for Indian System for Medicine, the Attorney General for India, R Venkataramani, expressed concerns about certain observations made in the judgment, which may have implications for the Commission.
The bench noted that the fate of the writ petition seems to depend on the outcome of the Miscellaneous application filed by others seeking modification or recall of the judgment.
Since Justice V. Ramasubramanian has retired, the bench found it more appropriate for the writ petitions, miscellaneous applications, and review petitions to be listed before a bench that includes Justice Pankaj Mithal.
The matter has been referred to the Chief Justice of India for further orders.
Earlier, on April 26, a bench comprising Justice V. Ramasubramanian and Justice Pankaj Mithal had set aside the Gujarat High Court’s order, which treated practitioners with a Bachelor of Ayurved in Medicine and Surgery on par with doctors holding MBBS degrees for the purpose of receiving benefits under the Tikku Pay Commission’s recommendations.
The Supreme Court observed that the nature of work performed by allopathy doctors and the advanced medical technology they use for emergency duty and trauma care is distinct from what Ayurveda doctors can offer.
Thus, the Court concluded that both categories of doctors do not perform equal work and are not entitled to equal pay.
The case title is “Medical Officers Association (Ayurveda) State Of Gujarat v. Union Of India.”
