Delhi HC quashes NCISMC chairperson appointment over Ineligibility

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday quashed the appointment of the chairperson of the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISMC), declaring him ineligible for the position.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela allowed two petitions challenging the appointment of Vaidya Jayant Yeshwant Deopujari as the chairperson of the commission (NCISMC).

“The writ petitions are allowed, and a writ of quo warranto quashing and setting aside the appointment of respondent 5 (Deopujari) as Chairperson of the Commission is issued,” the bench held.

The court was informed by the counsel for the commission that the process of selection and appointment of the chairperson had commenced.

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The court directed the expeditious completion of the process and said at the time of conducting the selection process, its observations ought to be taken into account.

According to the PTI report, the court passed the order on two petitions filed by Ved Prakash Tyagi, former president of the erstwhile Central Council for Indian Medicine, and Dr Raghunandan Sharma.

The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions had issued a circular on June 9, 2021, appointing Deopujari as the commission’s chairperson.

The petitioners have alleged that Deopujari could not be appointed as the chairperson of the commission as he does not hold a postgraduate degree, mandated under the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine Act, 2020 (NCISM Act).

The high court held that Deopujari possessed a PhD degree, whereas the requisite degree was MD or any other equivalent master’s degree in any discipline of the Indian System of Medicine.

The PhD degree, which was awarded to him by Pune University, did not presuppose acquisition of lower qualification (Master’s Degree in Ayurveda), it said.

“We have no hesitation to hold that the expression ‘Post-Graduate Degree’ occurring in Section 4(2) of the NCISM Act, 2020 in the context it has been used would mean a Master’s Degree (MD) in any discipline of Indian System of Medicine which the respondent does not possess and, therefore, he lacks the requisite qualification for being appointed to the office in question,” the bench said, reports PTI.

It said Deopujari was admitted to PhD course without undergoing the master’s degree course immediately after obtaining his graduation degree in Ayurveda (BAMS).

The court opined that every degree awarded by a university after graduation cannot be termed to be a “post-graduation qualification” for the reason that in the domain of higher education in our country “post graduate degree” has acquired a special meaning and significance and post-graduate degree means a master’s degree like MA, MSc, MD, LLM or MEd.

The court said the emphasis of the provisions of the NCISM Act on the functions of the commission are in relation to maintaining high quality and high standards of education in Indian System of Medicine and, accordingly, the phrases “head of a department” and “head of an organisation” were to be understood and construed in the context in which Parliament passed the Act.

“Analysing the alleged experience of respondent 5 working in a company producing ayurvedic medicine and products, we are unable to agree with the submission made on behalf of the respondents that such an experience can be said to be an experience of working as a ‘Leader’ in the capacity of ‘Head of a Department’ or ‘Head of an Organisation’,” it said.

The respondents said that since the appointment of Deopujari was made on the recommendation of a high-powered search committee headed by the cabinet secretary of the Central government and comprised experts, any interference in this petition would amount to sitting in appeal over a decision of a body of experts, impermissible in law.

The court, however, said the submission does not hold good as it is a case where the person concerned clearly lacked the essential eligibility qualification statutorily prescribed under the Act.

Tyagi’s plea said the commission was a governing body for all matters relating to education and regulation of Indian medicine in the country.

“Thus, the interests of a large number of people/students/Indian medicine practitioners shall be adversely and severely affected if an ineligible person is allowed to continue as the chairperson of such a critical statutory body,” he added.

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