Read Time: 06 minutes

Synopsis

Supreme Court on January 2, 2024 held that Post Graduate students in Ayurveda stream do not perform same duties as that of Post Graduate students in Allopathy stream, so they would not be entitled to the same stipend.

A bench of Justices BR Gavai and Sandeep Mehta accordingly set aside the Madhya Pradesh High Court's judgement of November 19, 2019 saying it was not sustainable in law.

The High Court had passed its order on a writ petition by students from Ayurveda stream, contending that though the duties discharged by them were same as compared to the duties by the Post Graduate students belonging to the Allopathy stream, they were discriminated against in the matter of stipend.

Though the state government opposed the plea, the High Court observed that the State had failed to establish that the students pursuing Post Graduate course in Ayurveda are of different class than that of students pursuing Post Graduate course in Allopathy. It was, therefore, found that the State was indulging in a discriminatory practice. A mandamus was, therefore, issued to the State to treat the students pursuing Post Graduate in Ayurveda stream at par with the students pursuing Post Graduate Course in Allopathy stream.

Additional Advocate General for the appellant State, Saurabh Mishra submitted that the issue was no more res integra.  

Supreme Court, in the case of 'State of Gujarat and Others Vs Dr P A Bhatt and Others' (2023) had held, duties discharged by the Post Graduate students in Ayurveda stream cannot be equated with the duties discharged by the Post Graduate students in Allopathy stream, he pointed out.

On the contrary, the counsel for the Ayurveda students, submitted the stand taken by the State before the High Court was found to be not tenable and as such, no interference is warranted with the judgment and order. 

The bench, however, cited its previous judgment wherein it was stated that even while recognising the importance of Ayurveda doctors and the need to promote alternative or indigenous systems of medicine, it cannot be oblivious of the fact that both categories of doctors are certainly not performing equal work to be entitled to equal pay.

State counsel also submitted that as a matter of fact, subsequently, there had been a revision of stipend paid to both the streams and there was not much of a difference in the stipend paid to the Post Graduate students in both the streams.

Allowing the appeal, the bench said, "In view of the specific findings of this court that the nature of duties discharged by the Post Graduate students in Ayurveda stream is not the same as that of Post Graduate students undertaking therein education in Allopathy stream, the impugned judgment and order would not be sustainable."

Cause Title: The State of MP And Others vs. Vijay Kumar Tiwari And Others (2024 INSC 25)