Supreme Court issues contempt notice to Centre, States over non-implementation of NCAHP Act
Supreme Court of India
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has issued notice to the Union Government, all State Governments and Union Territory administrations over the alleged failure to implement the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions (NCAHP) Act, 2021, despite its earlier directions.
The apex court in the year 2024 expressed concern over the growing number of unregulated institutes in the healthcare sector and therefore directed the Union and State Governments to ensure that the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions (NCAHP) Act, 2021, was implemented within 2 months.
However, a division bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta, while hearing a contempt petition filed by the Joint Forum of Medical Technologists of India (JFMTI), noted that the central government and the states did not comply with the court's direction despite 1.5 years having passed by.
Due to the non-compliance with the court's order, the bench issued notices to the Union of India, all state governments and Union Territory administrations. The Court, however, clarified that at this stage, the personal appearance of the officials concerned would not be required.
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Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that the Union Health Ministry was directed by the Court to convene an online meeting with all the State Secretaries of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to chalk out a roadmap within two weeks for implementing the NCAHP Act, 2021. The Apex Court took note of the fact that, despite the Act being in force for almost 4 years, many of its provisions had still not been implemented. The court further observed that out of the 28 States/Union Territories, only 14 set up the State Councils, and even those councils were not functioning properly.
The Central Government enacted the NCAHP Act on 28th March 2021 to regulate the education and services of the allied and healthcare professionals, assessment and rating of all allied and healthcare institutions to ensure uniform standards and quality assurance, maintenance of live National and State Registers for registration of all allied and healthcare professionals.
The Act provides for the constitution of the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions (NCAHP), and the functions of the Commission includes creation and maintenance of an online and live Central Register with details of academic qualifications, institutions, training, skills and competencies of Allied and Healthcare professionals related to their professions as specified in the Schedule.
In the fresh contempt plea, the petitioners claimed that the directives issued in a connected public interest litigation mandating the time-bound operationalisation of the NCAHP Act had not been adhered to.
As per the latest India legal media report, they argued that although the NCAHP Act was passed in March 2021, it has still not been fully implemented. The earlier PIL, filed in 2023, had pointed out that despite the Supreme Court’s order in August 2024 directing the Union and State governments to implement the Act by October 12, 2024, and make the bodies under the law functional, the National Commission itself had not been fully set up even in 2026.
The PIL further stated that the Act, which came into force on May 25, 2021, required States to set up State Councils within six months. However, repeated extensions given by the Central Government delayed the process, defeating the purpose of the law, which is to regulate and standardise allied and healthcare professions across the country.
The plea further contended that the delay raised questions under the principles of effective governance and the Court’s supervisory jurisdiction, as recognised under Article 141 of the Constitution and the jurisprudence established in State of Punjab v. Amritsar Gas Ltd. (1974) and Vineet Narain v. Union of India (1998), concerning compliance with judicial directions and timely implementation of statutory mandates.
