Allopathic, Ayurveda doctors don't perform equal work, so not entitled to equal pay: SC

The Supreme Court has said Allopathic and Ayurveda doctors certainly do not perform equal work and thus are not entitled to equal pay.

It noted that the Allopathic doctors performed a number of duties, including emergency and trauma care, post mortem etc, which was not the case with alternative/indigenous systems of medicine.

A bench of Justices V Ramasubramanian and Pankaj Mithal set aside a Gujarat High Court order, which held that Ayurveda practitioners working in government hospitals should be treated at par with doctors holding MBBS degrees and they are entitled to equal pay.

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"Even while recognising the importance of Ayurved doctors and the need to promote alternative/indigenous systems of medicine, we cannot be oblivious of the fact that both categories of doctors are certainly not performing equal work to be entitled to equal pay," the bench said.

The bench pointed out it is common knowledge that during out-patient days (OPD) in general hospitals in cities/towns, MBBS doctors are made to attend to hundreds of patients, which is not the case with Ayurveda doctors.

The bench also said the AYUSH doctors are not notified as competent to perform post-mortem.

The Gujarat government and others questioned a 2012 High Court order, which held that Ayurveda practitioners are entitled to be treated at par with doctors with MBBS degrees.

“By the very nature of the science that they practise and with the advancement of science and modern medical technology, the emergency duty that allopathy doctors are capable of performing and the trauma care that they are capable of providing cannot be performed by Ayurveda doctors,” the bench said.

The bench also said it is also not possible for Ayurved doctors to assist surgeons performing complicated surgeries, while MBBS doctors can assist.

"We shall not be understood to mean as though one system of medicine is superior to the other,” the bench added.