SC cancels Anil Khurana’s appointment as Homeopathy Commission chairperson

The Supreme Court on Wednesday annulled the appointment of Anil Khurana as the chairperson of the National Commission for Homeopathy, ruling that his selection and appointment did not comply with the law.

A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Manmohan upheld a previous decision by the Karnataka High Court, which had found that Khurana failed to meet the qualifications set out in the National Commission for Homeopathy Act, 2020.

The bench ordered Khurana to "step down from the office of Chairperson forthwith," but allowed him a week to complete his assignments, with the condition that he refrain from making any policy decisions related to finances.

The legal challenge against Khurana’s appointment had been brought before the High Court by a petitioner who argued that Khurana, along with K R Janardanan Nair, the president of the Medical Assessment and Rating Board, did not fulfil the necessary requirements under the Act.

Specifically, Section 4(2) of the Act mandates that the Chairperson must possess a postgraduate degree in Homeopathy and at least twenty years of experience in the field, including ten years in a leadership role in healthcare delivery or education. The petitioner contended that Khurana lacked the requisite experience, a claim the court supported.

While the Karnataka High Court upheld the appointment of Nair, it ruled against Khurana, finding that his leadership experience fell short of the statutory requirements.

The court stated that Khurana’s tenure as Director General (in-charge) from August 2017 to April 2018 and as Director General from July 2019 to 2021 amounted to only about four years in leadership roles, insufficient for the statutory 10-year requirement.

The bench further directed the initiation of a fresh process for the appointment of a new chairperson, to be carried out expeditiously.