NCISM: Calling Registered AYUSH Doctors 'Quacks' Has No Legal Basis

The National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) has stated that using terms like 'quacks' or 'bogus doctors' for duly registered AYUSH practitioners is legally unfounded and may violate their constitutional rights.

In a formal statement, the commission noted that qualified practitioners holding recognized degrees in Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, and Sowa-Rigpa are being subjected to harassment and defamation through public notices, media, and social platforms. The NCISM emphasized that these practitioners are registered with State Medical Councils for Indian Medicine and are recognized under the Indian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970, and the NCISM Act, 2020.

The commission clarified that the NCISM Act provides a statutory framework for regulating education, ethics, and professional practice in Indian systems of medicine. It grants legal rights and responsibilities to registered practitioners. Therefore, describing them as 'quacks' or 'bogus doctors' has no legal basis.

Any individual, institution, media organization, or authority publicly using such terms may be acting contrary to the legal recognition granted under the NCISM Act, 2020, and may infringe upon the practitioners' professional and constitutional rights, the commission warned.

The NCISM reiterated that all duly qualified and registered practitioners of the Indian System of Medicine are legally recognized healthcare professionals entitled to the rights, protections, and professional respect accorded under the law.

This stance aligns with the central government's responses in Parliament, where the Ministry of AYUSH has consistently distinguished between unrecognized persons posing as AYUSH practitioners—who are liable for penal action—and duly qualified and registered practitioners recognized under the NCISM Act.