The Supreme Court has ruled that all degrees granted by Hindu Sahitya Sammelan (HSS) Prayag Allahabad after 1967 for practicing Ayurvedic medicines are invalid.
A Bench comprising Justices B S Chauhan and Swatanter Kumar, in their judgement pronounced yesterday, has held that HSS is neither a deemed university nor an educational institutional or an educational board. It is only a society registered under the Society Registration Act.
HSS was authorised to award the degrees of Vaidya Visharad or Ayurved Ratna till 1967 and after that it was not authorised to give those degrees as it is neither affiliated to any university, nor a statutory authority and has never tried to get recognition from any university or the government.
The apex court has further ruled that only duly recognised edcational institutions can grant valid degrees.
Therefore, all those practicing in ayurvedic medical science on the basis of degrees got after 1967 from HSS stand debarred from practicing as ayurvedic doctor.
HSS never conducted any examinations to test the skills and knowledge of the candidates seeking degrees from it.
The judgement was delivered on a petition filed by some practitioners from Rajasthan.
HSS has not got recognition from the statutory authority after 1967. No attempt has ever been made by HSS to get recognition as required under Section 14 of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1970," Justice Chauhan said while dismissing a batch of petitions by associations of such medical practitioners seeking permission to practise.
The Bench said HSS was not an educational institution imparting education in Ayurveda or any other branch of medicine and no school or college imparting education in any subject was affiliated to it.
"HSS only conducts examinations without verifying whether the candidate has some elementary or basic education or has attended classes in Ayurveda in any recognised college," the Bench said.
Dismissing the petitions, the Bench said "a person who acquired certificate, degree or diploma from HSS Prayag after 1967 is not eligible to indulge in any kind of medical practise".