The Delhi High Court issued notices to the Centre and the MCI, seeking its response on the petition filed by an NGO which sought the court intervention to allow non-MBBS people to practice in rural areas.

A bench comprising Chief Justice A P Shah and Justice S Muralidhar directed the Health Secretary and the President of Medical Council of India (MCI) to file their response on the PIL seeking to decriminalise practice of medicine by non-MBBS persons.

The Court issued the notice on a petition filed by a doctor Meenakshi Gautam seeking it to direct the government to introduce a short term course for training health care workers so that shortage of doctors in rural areas could be solved.

Dr Meenakshi said Indian Medical Council Act which suggested one year imprisonment for practicing medicine by non-MBBS persons, should be amended.

The law, at present, does not allow alternate medical professionals to practice medicine, so the rural areas where the MBBS students were not willing to practise, were lagging behind in medical facilities, the petitioner said.

She said the Government should devise three-year courses for health care so that these workers could provide medical services in the rural areas.

UNI