Today, On 27th September, The Chief Justice of India criticized the Rajasthan government for delays in paying salaries to AYUSH doctors, particularly those practicing Ayurveda. Expressing frustration, the CJI questioned why Ayurveda professionals face such discriminatory treatment compared to other medical fields.
New Delhi: AYUSH doctors in Rajasthan achieved a significant victory in the Supreme Court. The court directed the state government to release the pending salaries of retired AYUSH doctors within a week, following their reinstatement due to a High Court ruling.
The Supreme Court criticized the Rajasthan government, questioning the “discriminatory” treatment of these doctors.
The issue arose when the state government extended the retirement age of allopathic doctors from 60 to 62 years, effective March 31, 2016, due to a shortage of medical professionals.
However, the retirement age for AYUSH doctors (those practicing Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy) remained at 60. This led the AYUSH doctors to challenge the policy in court, arguing that there should be no disparity in retirement ages between allopathic and alternative medicine practitioners.
The state government later appealed the High Court’s decision, but the Supreme Court upheld the ruling in favor of the AYUSH doctors.
The Rajasthan High Court ruled that the retirement age for all government doctors, including AYUSH practitioners, should be uniform, accepting the grievances of AYUSH doctors. The court decided that those who retired after March 31, 2016, should continue in service until the age of 62.
On Friday, a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud took up the state’s appeal against the High Court’s ruling. During the hearing, the Court expressed dissatisfaction when it was brought to its attention by the AYUSH doctors’ lawyer that, despite their reinstatement, there had been a five-month delay in salary payments.
Chief Justice Chandrachud questioned the state government, asking,
“All of them are working as doctors. Why this discriminatory treatment toward Ayurveda? Why haven’t you released their salaries?”
The Supreme Court then directed the Rajasthan government to disburse the pending salaries within a week. The Court also made it clear that the High Court’s judgment remains in effect, applying not only to the petitioners but to all similarly situated AYUSH doctors.
The bench addressed the grievances, clarifying,
“We make it clear that there is no stay on the observations made in the High Court’s judgment. If the salary arrears have not been paid, they should be cleared within a week. This should apply not only to the AYUSH doctors who approached the court but also to all similarly situated doctors.”
Additionally, the bench instructed the lawyer to compile a chart detailing the cases arising from the retirement age issue of doctors in the state.
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