Homeopathy panel chief's appointment junked by Supreme Court

NEW DELHI: Supreme Court on Wednesday quashed appointment of Dr N K Khurana as the chairperson of National Commission for Homeopathy (NCH), who is six months shy of completing his four-year term, finding that he did not meet the eligibility criteria and indicted AYUSH secretary for declaring Khurana eligible.

The appointment of Khurana, whose term was to end in July this year, was set aside by a single judge bench of Karnataka HC but he continued in the post as the single judge's decision was reversed by a division bench of the HC. On the appeal filed by Dr Amaragouda L Patil, an unsuccessful contender for the chairman's post, a bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Manmohan said the then AYUSH secretary, without any material, had in 2021 misled the selection committee that Khurana had the required experience when in reality he did not.

Ordering Khurana to step down from the post in a week, the bench asked govt to initiate a fresh process for selection of chairperson for NCH.