The Assam Homeopathic Medicine Act, 1955

ASSAM ACT XI OF 1955 TH E ASSAM HO M EO PA TH IC ME DICINE ACT , 1955 (Passed by the Assembly; (R eceiv ed the as se nt o f the Go vernor on the 14th Jun e 1955) [Published in the Assam Gazette, da ted the 22nd Ju ne 1955] An Ac t to prov ide fo r the development o f the Hom eopathic system o f medicine an d its con tro l by the Sta te Government in Assam . Preamb le. Whereas it is expedie nt to provide for the deve­ lop ment of th e Home opath ic system of m edicine and its con trol by the State Governme nt in Assam ; I t is hereby enacted in the 6th year ol our Rep ub lic : Sh or t tit le , 1. (() This Act may be calle d the Assam Hom eo- ex ten t an d p a thic Medicine Act, 1955. commence- * men t. (li) I t extends to the whole of Assam. (m) It shall come into force on such da te as may be notified by Government . Def initions. 2 . In this Act, unless the re is anyth ing re pugnan t in the sub jec t or context— (a) “ Board ” means the Board of Homeopa thic Medicine constituted unde r sections 3 and 1 of this Act. (6) “ Ch air man” means the Chairma n of the Boa rd . (e) “ Ho me opath y” means the system of med i­ cine founded by Dr. Ha hn em ann and the express ion “ Home opath ic” shall be cons trued acco rdingly . (d) “ Member ” means a member of the Board. (e) “ Prescribed” means prescribed by rules framed under this Act. ( f ) ‘‘Regis tered Ho me opath ” means a person who practises the Hom eopath system of medicine as his p rincip al occupa tion and who is registe red under the provis ion of the Act. (g) “ Regis ter” means the register of Hom eo­ pathic med ical practit ioners . (Zt) “ Re gis tra r” means the Regis trar app oin ted under this Act. Cons titution of the Fir st and subse­ quent Boards. 3. (I) The Sta te Governm ent may , as soon as may be, by notification in the Official Gaz ette consti ­ tu te a Board, to be calle d “ the Board of Homeop ath ic System of Medicine, Assam .” Th e Board shall be a body corporate and hav e perpe tua l succession and a com mon seal a nd may by the said nam e sue and be sued . [Price annas 2 or 2 d.] 2 (2) The Board shall consist of 11 mem bers includ­ ing the Chairma n and shall be con stit ute d in the following m anner, viz., (a) Fou r Hom eopaths to be elected by the Reg istered Hom eopaths of the Sta te, (£) Three members of the Legisla tive Assembly to be nom inated by Gov ernmen t, (c) Two mem bers of the Register ed medical pra ctit ioners of the Sta te to be nom inated by Govern­ ment, (rf) One mem ber from the publ ic having interest in Homeopa thy to be nom inated byvGov ernmen t, and {e) the Directo r of He alth Services : Prov ided that for the first Board all the non-official members shall be nomin ated by Gov ernment. The Directo r of Hea lth Services shall be the Ex-officio Chairm an of the Board . (3) Th e Firs t Board shal l be cons tituted within six m onths from the da te the Act comes into force, and the names of the members shall be publi shed in the official Gazet te and such Board shall function for a per iod of three years. Form atio n 4. Each subsequent Board shall funct ion for a and Life of period of thre e years fro m the da te of its constitu tion Boards'1' 111 a n c * t i l e m a n n e r election and nom ination of mem bers to it shall be such as may be prescribed . Compulsory 5 . Wit hin one yea r from the da te of the Gazette Registra - notification of the constitutio n of the Board a person tion . practis ing Homeopa thy sha ll rep or t his nam e, address and qual ifica tion to the Chairma n of the Board for the purpose of registering his nam e in the manne r provided hereafte r. M a i n t e - 6. (1) The Fir st Board shal l, as soon as conve- nanc e of the nien tly after its constitutio n and not late r than two Reg iste r. years f rom the enforcement of this Act , make order s reg ula ting the ma intenance of a Regis ter of H omeo­ path s (2) Afte r th e complet ion of the Register the names of the Hom eop aths eligible for p ractice in Hom eopathy shall be publ ished in the official Gaz ette . (3) The Reg ister shall be k ept in such form as may be prescribed . Appoint ­ ment of the Registrar and Staff. Duties, sala ry and allowances of th e Regis­ trar and staff. 7. Th e Firs t Board shall with the previous appro ­ val of Gov ernmen t, appoint a Regis trar who shall be the Secreta ry to the Boa rd, and also appo int the s taff necessary for car rying out the purposes of the Act. 8. Th e dut ies , salary and allowances and such other mat ter relating to the Regis tra r and the staff shall be such as m ay be prescribed . Two catego- 9. Th ere shall be two classes of Registered rics of Ho - Hom eopaths , viz-, Class ‘A’ and Class ‘B’. meop aths. 3 4 Fees for Re­ gistered ' Homeopaths. Glass ‘A’.— (t) One who is a regis tered medical practiti oner unde r the Assam Medical Ac t, 1916 prac- tising exclusively Hom eop athy ; ° (it) One who is a Hom eop ath ic medical prac tit ion ­ er hold ing degree from a foreign country which en­ title s him to prac tise medicine in his country subject to the conditio n that the inst itut ion is approved as suit ­ able for the purpose by the Board of Home opathic Med icine ; (iii) One who is a Homeopa thic medical prac ­ titi oner who has successfully gone through at least four yea rs’ course in any Homeopa thic ins titu tion recogn ised by the Sta te in which the ins titu tion is sit u­ ate d and hold ing a Diploma or a Certi ficate .from the ins titu tion , subject to the conditio n th at the sta ndard of qual ifica tion is not lower tha n the sta ndard that would be required for regi stra tion by the Assam Homeopath ic Medical Board. Class ‘B’.—One who has been engaged in the pra ctice of Homeopa thic system of med icine as the principal occupa tion for a perio d of not less than five years imm edia tely before the date of the coming into force of this Act. 10(1) If it appears to the Board that a person is qualified to have his nam e entered in the Register as a Class ‘A’ "Registere d Home opath ” his nam e shall be so en tered on payment of a sum of Rs. 20 (twenty) as first annual fees ; an d if he is qualified to have his n ame ente red in the Register as a "C las s ‘B’ Registered Home opath” his name shall be so ente red on pay ment of Rs . 15 (fifteen) as first annual fees. ■Js On payment of the first annual fees the "R egis­ tered Ho me opath ” shall receive Licenses to prac tise Homeopa thy in the Sta te of Assam. (2) Th e subsequent ann ual renew al fees for a "Regi ste red Ho meopa th” shall be Rs. 10 and Rs. 5 for Class ‘A’ and Class CB’ respectively . (3) The method and time of d epos iting License fees by the "R eg ist ered ” Hom eopaths and the con ten ts and the form of the Licenses to prac tise shall be such as may be prescribed. 11. After the pub lica tion of the names of Homeopa ths under section 6 of the Act and after such tim e as t he Sta te Governmen t shal l, by noti­ fication in the official G aze tte, ann oun ce, no person oth er than a "R eg ist ered ” Homeopa th hold ing a license to practise as here inbefore provide d, shall prac tise the H omeop ath ic system of medicine. Penalty for 12. Any person who acts in con trav ent ion of practice of section 11 shall, on conv iction be pun isha ble with Homeopathy fjn e w hich may extend to Rs . 200 (two hundred ) risedn aU per- f° r ®r s t offence and upto Rs. 500 (five hun dred) sons. for every subsequent offence. 4 Con fe rr ing, 13 , (1) No person other than an associa tion fs ûin'18 Cr OI in s t*t u t i° n recogn ised or author ised by the Board dip loma , under this Act shall confe r, gran t or issue or hold license, e tc ,, itse lf out as ent itled to confer, gran t or issue any byunauth o- degree, dip lom a, license, certi ficate or other docume nt or^ns^itu-nS s t a t i n S o r implying that the holder, guara nte e, or tion s. rec ipie nt is qualif ied to practise the Homeopa thic system of medicine. Pe na lty . Whoever cont ravenes the provisions of this section shall be pun isha ble with fine, which may extend to R s. 500 (live hu nd red) . False 14. Whoever volun tari ly and falsely assumes ofSdegreen o r u s e s a n y t i t , e o r descrip tion o r any addit ion to his dip loma or name implying that he holds a degree, dip lom a, ce rti fic ate , license or certificate confe rred, gra nte d or issued by io be an any association or inst itut ion recognised or authorised offence. by t jje j>o a r c i u n der th is Act or th at he is qualified to prac tise th e Homeopa thic system of medicine under the provisions of this A ct, shall be pun isha ble w ith fine which may extend to Rs. 200 (two hun dred) for the first offence u nder this section and to a fine which may extend to Rs. 500 (five hundre d) for every subsequent offence. ti ffc Fu nd " 1 5 ’ Th ere shall be estab lished a Fund for the 1 ' ’ Board and the re shall be plac ed to the cre dit thereof. (a) grants an d loans if any received from the Sta te G ov er nm en t; (Z>) all fees received by the B oard on account of registra tion of Hom eop aths, admission to the Boa rd’s exam inat ions and licensing of firms lor sale o f drugs under the Act ; (c) con tributio ns if any received from any local autho rity or any Homeopath ic Medical Association ; a nd (d) all sums received by or on behalf of the Board from sources oth er than those men tion ed in the foregoing clauses. 16. (1) The Sta te Governme nt may at its discretion place a lump sum allotm ent a t the disposal of the Board every year for dist ributio n according to rules to the Hom eop ath ic dispensaries and edu cat ion­ al inst itut ions in Assam and other suit able purposes connected with the aims and objects o f the Act. (2) Th e Board shall adm inis ter, subject to con­ ditions, any fund placed at its disposal by the Sta te Gov ernment for specific purposes. 17 . The Fund for the Board shall he kep t in a Bank with the previous sanctio n of the Sta te Government . Appea ls to 1 8 ’ (!) A n a PPe a l s h a U He to the Sta te s ta te G ov- Governme nt from every decision of the Board under ernm en t this Act. from deci- (2) Every app eal under sub-section (1) shall be Bo ard .0 preferred with in thi rty days of the da te o f such deci ­ sion. Bar to suit 19 , (1) No suit or oth er legal proceed ing shal l lie and other a g a j l i s t th e Sta te Governmen t in respect of an ac t 'S ce d̂ings'r ° done in the exercise of the powers conferred by this Act. (2) No suit or oth er legal proceeding shall be ma intain able aga inst the Board or any member or any officer or serv ant ol the Board or any person act ­ ing under the dire ctio n of th e Board or of the Chair­ man or of any officer or servant of the Board in res­ pect o f anyth ing done und er this Act, lawfully and in good faith and with reasonable care and att en tio n. Co ntrol ol 20. If at any time it shal l appear to the State* Gov" Sta te Governmen t that the Board has failed to exer ern me nt. cise o r has exceeded or abused a power conferred upon it by or under this Act, the Sta te Governmen t may, if it considers such failu re, excess, or abuse to be of serious chara cte r, notify the part icu lars the reo f to the Board ; a nd if the Board fails to remedy such defa ult, excess or abuse with in such time as may be fixed by the Sta te Governme nt in this behalf, the Sta te Governme nt may dissolve the Board and cause all or any of the powers and duties of the Board to be exer­ cised and performed by such agency an d for such per iod as it may think fi t: Provided that i t shall take steps within six months to constitute a new Board und er the provisions of this Act. Court com­ pete nt to try offences und er this Act and take cognizance of offences. De leg ati on . of powers. 21. (1) No cou rt oth er than the cou rt of a Magist rate o f the first class shall take cognizance of, or try an offence u nde r this Act. (2) No cou rt shall take cognizance of any offence under this Act except on a com pla int in writ ing of a n officer not below the ran k of a Sub- Inspec tor of Police. 22. The Sta te Governme nt or the Board may delegate such of its powers an d to such au tho rity as the Sta te Governme nt or the Board, as the case may be, deem necessary. Making of 23. Sub ject to the previsions of this Act and Reg ula tion s. t o th e r u ie s fram ed by the Sta te Governme nt the re­ unde r, the Board may f rame regulatio ns lor regula ting the following ma tters, namely— (1) (a) conditio ns on which edu cationa l or ins­ tructional ins titu tions may be affiliated to or recognised by the Board ; (V) the admission of students to such educa­ tional or inst ruc tion al inst itutions ; (c) the cond itions unde r wh ich students shall be admi tted to the examinations of the Board for the purpose of degrees, dip lo­ mas and certificates ; 6 i . Rules. (</) the num ber , qual ifica tions and emo lu­ ments of teac hers of the edu cat ional or inst ruc tion al insti tutio ns affil iated to the Board ; («) the fees to be charged for courses of study in such insti tutions and for admission to the exam inations degrees, diplomas and certificates of the Board ; ( / ) the conditions and modes of appo int ­ me nt and duties of examiners and the con duc t of examinat ions . \ / / (2) (a) Th e time a nd place at which the meeting shall be held ; (6) the issue of notices convening such meet ings ; (c) the conduc t of business there at ; (</) the salary, allowances an d oth er con di­ tions of service o f officers and servants of the Board oth er than the Regis trar ; !>) all other mat ters which may be necessary for the purposes of car rying ou t the ob­ jec ts of this Act ; (3) all such regula tion s shall be pub lished in the official Gaz ette ; (4) the State Governme nt may, by notif icatio n in the official Gazet te, cancel or modify any regula tion. 24. (1) The Sta te Governmen t ma y, from time to time, make rules consistent with this Act for car rying out the purposes of this Act. (2) In parti cular , and without pre jud ice to the gene rality of th e foregoing power, the Sta te Govern­ me nt may make rules for any of the following matters— (c) the time at which and the place and man ner in which election shall be held and nom ination m ade under this Act ; (6) regula tion o f elections under this Act ; (c) the conduc t o f the ma inte nan ce of corre ct minutes of meeting o f the Board ; (</) the ma nner in which vacancies of office bearers and mem bers of th e Board shall be filled ; (<>) the privileges, sala ry and allow ances and other conditions of service of the Regis trar ; ( / ) the acco unts to be kept by Boards, the ma nner in which accounts shall be aud ited and published and the power of aud itors in respec t of disallowance and surcharge; (g) the date before which a meeting shall be held for the sanction of the budget; (h) the m etho d and forms to be ado pted in the pre parat ion o f the budget ; (i) the ret urns , stateme nts and report s to be submit ted by Boards ; X , 7 (j ) the form of Regis ter of hom eopaths to be X mainta ined under this Act ; (A) the app lication of fees charged under this Act ; (l) the ma nner in which appeals aga ins t the decision of the Board shall be heard ; (m) allowances if any pay able to mem bers of the Board and its Ch airma n ; (?z) rem unera tion to be paid to the Ch airm an ; (o) the fur the rance of any objec ts of the Board as a teaching or exam ining body ; ( p) ma inte nan ce of a pa tie nt register by pra c­ titio ners in the prescribed form ; (9) delega tion of power by the St ate Govern­ ment and by the Board ; (r) the fur the ran ce of any other objects of the Act , I I A, G. P. (Leg.) No.15/55— 1050—6-12-1955,