Legal action to be initiated against quacks

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Bharatiya Chikitsa Parishad on Monday filed cases in a city court against five alleged quacks active in east Delhi.
The accused will now have to appear in court and face charges of practising medicine without adequate qualifications or permission from the Delhi government.
Parishad chief Yuvraj Tyagi said: ‘‘The charges against these quacks will be heard in Karkardooma courts on September 3.’’
The alleged quacks were identified after several rounds of surveys in the trans-Yamuna area, he said.
‘‘We had issued notices to several dubious practitioners seeking reasons why
action should not be initiated against them for illegally running clinics,’’ he said.
At least 20,000 quacks are suspected to be operating in the city. They are known to run their ‘‘medicine shops’’ in the evening to avoid raids and subsequent punitive
action during working hours.
The watchdog agencies, including those for ayurvedic, unani and homoeopathic systems of medicine, face an uphill task while tackling quacks without issuing them notices.
‘‘As per the principles of natural justice, anybody liable to face action needs to be given an opportunity to give his version,’’ said a health department official.
Delhi health minister A K Walia said the recent activism shown by the watchdog agencies had mounted pressure on quacks to shift base or run for cover.
‘‘Things have changed since we formed the medical councils for different streams for medicine and made it compulsory that all medical practitioners must register with their respective councils,’’ he said.