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Informist, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025

NEW DELHI – The Supreme Court on Wednesday quashed the appointment of Anil Khurana as chairperson of the National Commission for Homeopathy as it was not in accordance with law regarding the eligibility criteria for the post. The act of appointing Khurana as the chairperson, despite him not having the requisite experience, suffers from malice in law, the court said.

Khurana shall step down from the office of chairperson of the commission forthwith, said the court. By forthwith, the top court said it meant a week from date to enable him complete his pending assignments without, however, taking any policy decision or decision involving finances.

Fresh process be initiated for appointment to the office of chairperson of the commission expeditiously, said the court. "We hope and trust that the selection process will be taken to its logical conclusion, in accordance with law," the court added.

The bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Manmohan said that whenever appointment to a public office is sought to be made, irrespective of the nature of the office, the rules prescribing mandatory eligibility criteria must be applied in a strict manner. After all, every public appointment under Article 16 of the Constitution must be fair, non-arbitrary and reasonable, the bench said. Tested on this touchstone, the appointment of Khurana failed to pass muster, the court added.

Section 4(2) of the National Commission for Homeopathy Act, 2020 states that the chairperson shall be a person of outstanding ability, proven administrative capacity and integrity, possessing a postgraduate degree in homoeopathy from a recognised university and having experience of not less than twenty years in the field of homoeopathy. Out of these 20 years, at least 10 years shall be as a leader in the area of healthcare delivery, growth and development of homoeopathy or its education. The explanation to Section 4 defines the term "leader" as the head of a department or an organisation.

In 2021, the search committee under the 2020 Act recommended a panel of three aspirants in order of merit, wherein Khurana figured at the top. The recommendation was accepted by the government and Khurana was appointed as the chairperson of the commission in the same year for four years. Dr. Amaragouda L. Patil, a person in the race for the chairperson, challenged Khurana's appointment. Patil said Khurana lacked the requisite experience of 10 years as a "leader" in terms of the explanation to Section 4 of the 2020 Act and, therefore, could not have entered the zone of consideration.  End

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Ashish Shirke

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