The transfer, critics say, may have critical penalties for public well being.
The controversial determination, which formally comes into impact on July 15, stems from amendments made way back to 2014 to the Maharashtra Homoeopathic Practitioners Act and the Maharashtra Medical Council Act of 1965.
These adjustments had enabled homeopaths to prescribe allopathic medication “underneath sure situations”, however authorized and regulatory hurdles stalled implementation.
Now, the MMC — at present functioning with out an elected medical physique since 2022 — has issued a notification allowing registration of homeopaths who full the CCMP course.
As soon as registered, they'll legally be allowed to prescribe allopathic remedy, though the precise scope of their prescribing rights stays underneath evaluate.“We obtained instructions from the government and a clearance from the regulation and judiciary division concerning the case pending earlier than the court docket. We are going to start registering them beginning July 15. Until then, we might be finding out what sorts of medicines they are going to be allowed to prescribe,” stated MMC administrator Dr Vinky Rughwani, as quoted by ToI.
IMA calls transfer a menace to medical requirements
The Indian Medical Affiliation (IMA), which had challenged the 2014 amendments, stated this recent notification has given authorized pressure to what was beforehand a “toothless” directive.
The Bombay Excessive Court docket had issued a keep on the sooner transfer, however since late 2024, efforts had been underway to bypass the court docket's restraint.
In December 2024, the state's Meals and Drug Administration (FDA) directed chemists to produce allopathic medicines to homeopaths who had accomplished the CCMP — an instruction the IMA objected to, citing jurisdictional overreach.
“FDA is a drug regulator nevertheless it doesn't have the authority to recognise who can follow drugs. That authority lies solely with the MMC,” Dr Santosh Kadam, President, IMA Maharashtra, stated.
Political will at play?
In line with Dr Kadam, the MMC's new round now provides “authorized weight” to the sooner FDA route, elevating issues that unqualified practitioners could start administering allopathic remedies after solely a brief coaching stint.
He additionally alleged political strain behind the transfer.
“Each FDA and MMC have been pressured to move such order. Many homeopathic faculties are both owned by or not directly affiliated with politicians within the state,” Dr Santosh Kadam informed TOI.
The MMC's determination adopted a February 2025 assembly between state medical schooling minister Hasan Mushrif, BJP MLA Randhir Sawarkar, MMC representatives, and homeopathy associations, the place it was agreed that the 2014 modification would lastly be carried out.
(With inputs from ToI)
