Madras HC directs state govt committee to consider alternative medicine for treating coronavirus

Madras High Court on Tuesday directed a committee, set up by the Tamil Nadu government to consider representations by medical practitioners to prevent or treat coronavirus through alternative medicines.

A division bench of Justice Vineet Kothari and Justice R Suresh Kumar heard the matter through video conferencing and slated it for further hearing after four weeks or after the court resumes regular working following the relaxation of the lockdown.

"In view of the technical committee already having been constituted for this purpose during the present times of COVID 19 or coronavirus spreading the world over, we direct the said committee to consider all the concerning representations made in this regard to the State government, for prevention and treatment of the said disease," the court said.

The High Court said that it hopes and expects that the said committee and the state government will take appropriate decision in this matter as quickly as possible so that the public at large can immediately avail the benefit of the same.

The court was hearing a petition filed by K Muthu Kumar Nayakar and Dr KM Senthamizh Selvan, members of the Ayush Medical Welfare Association.

The plea sought directions to the state government to constitute a committee to consider the representations to allow medical practitioners to provide relief to coronavirus affected people and others, as preventive measures or treatment in the form of alternative medicines by way of Ayurvedha, Siddha, Unani, Homeopathy or Naturopathy methods, besides Allopathy.

Additional Advocate General Arvind Pandian, representing the state government, submitted that the state government has already constituted a technical committee comprising of the experts in various fields, who will consider all such representations in this regard.

Pandian said that the committee will also issue appropriate guidelines for practitioners of the respective fields and also for common public members and under which, such guidelines can be followed by the persons concerned.