Overview

• The Delhi High Court bench led by Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela quashed the June 2021 appointment of Vaidya Jayant Yeshwant Deopujari as NCISM chair.
• The court held that a PhD did not satisfy the NCISM Act’s postgraduate degree requirement, which specifically calls for an MD or equivalent master’s in any discipline of Indian system of medicine.
• Ved Prakash Tyagi and Dr Raghunandan Sharma challenged Deopujari’s eligibility, arguing that an ineligible chairperson would undermine the commission’s mandate to regulate Indian medicine education.
• Judges observed that Deopujari’s leadership roles in a private Ayurvedic products company did not qualify as head-of-department or head-of-organization experience under statutory criteria.
• The court ordered the NCISM to launch a fresh selection process without delay and to apply its eligibility observations in choosing a new chairperson.