Kerala HC adjourns plea against ‘Dr’ prefix for physios

Kochi: High court has adjourned the appeals challenging a single bench order which held that not only medical professionals but also physiotherapists and occupational therapists are entitled to use the prefix ‘Dr' before their names, to March 2.The adjournment was granted to enable the appellants to respond on whether the appeals could be disposed of with a direction to the govt to consider their representation. The decision was made by a bench of Justices Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikary and P V Balakrishnan while considering the appeals filed by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) and others.Previously, the single bench had dismissed the petitions, observing that neither the National Medical Commission (NMC) nor the allied statutes provide for the exclusive use of the prefix ‘Dr' by qualified medical professionals. The single bench noted that the NMC Act does not contain any provision conferring the title ‘Doctor' on medical practitioners and that, in the absence of such statutory provisions, the petitioners could not claim an exclusive right to use the prefix ‘Dr'.While considering the appeals on Monday, the division bench reiterated the same statutory position and orally observed that the court, in any case, cannot decide whether someone can prefix ‘Dr' to their name. HC observed that it would be better to allow the govt to take a decision in the matter, as otherwise the cases would remain pending before court and, because of such pendency, the govt may also refrain from taking a decision. The court further stated that it could dispose of the matter with a direction to consider the representation in a time-bound manner instead of keeping the appeals pending.Subsequently, counsel appearing for the appellants sought time to obtain instructions from his clients regarding HC's suggestion and requested an additional week to file a reply. Accordingly, HC adjourned the matter to March 2.