The Kerala High Court has ordered that AYUSH doctors should not prescribe any medicine as cure for COVID-19, but only as an immunity booster. The bench comprising Chief Justice S Manikumar and Justice Shaji P Chaly made the ruling while disposing a Public Interest Litigation.

The court also directed the medical and police Departments to monitor the action of AYUSH medical practitioners, legal news website Live Law reported.

Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy streams of medicine come under the AYUSH ministry.

The order came after one M S Vineeth, a former central government counsel, approached the high court seeking a direction to the state government to implement a notification issued by the Union Ministry of AYUSH to adopt Homeopathic system, among other systems of medicines, in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The petitioner's argument was that if Homoeopathic medicines were given to all, especially those in highly affected districts and those who are under observation the gravity of the virus spread would have been much lesser.

The state government submitted before the court that the advisory of

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the Ministry of AYUSH was being followed by the government and tablets were given free of cost to people as immunity boosters. The government stated that doctors practising in AYUSH medicines are not supposed to prescribe any medicines as cure for COVID-19, as per the medical protocol of the government.

The court disposing of the petition taking note of the notifications/orders issued by the state and the central governments in this regard. The court observed that medical practitioners in AYUSH can prescribe medicines only as immunity boosters.

The court made it clear that if any qualified doctor practising AYUSH medicine makes any advertisement or prescribes any drugs or medicines, as a cure for COVID-19 disease, except those specifically mentioned in a government letter dated March 3, 2020, the respondents can take

appropriate action under the provisions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, and the orders of the state and central governments.

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