Asserting the view of the Supreme Court and clearing interpretations under the Bombay Shops and Establishment Act, 1948, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has ruled that a clinic run by a private doctor or his/her partnership firm is not a ‘commercial establishment.’ The clarification was made after the Indian Medical Association sought a declaration that the establishments of individual medical practitioners and those who work in partnership are not commercial establishments.

By amending the writ petition, the IMA sought a declaration that including the term ‘medical practitioners’ in the definition of ‘commercial establishments’ is in violation of the provisions of Article 14 of the Constitution of India.

The counsel appearing for the IMA provided the argument that since medical practitioners are professionals the practice of an individual medical practitioner can’t be considered as a commercial activity. The counsel added that since doctors are governed by different acts and statutory bodies such as the MCI, they are professionals. Further reference was made to previous High Court judgements and also a Supreme Court judgement which states that the professional establishments of doctors don’t fall within the ambit of the definition of ‘commercial establishments’ under the Bombay Shops and Establishments Act.’

An argument was also made by the counsel that the maternity home/ clinic run by a doctor can’t be termed as a commercial activity since doctors provide a service to their patients. The counsel added that hospital chains could be termed as commercial activity given how doctors get paid for the services they render.

The pleader who appeared for the government didn’t dispute the position of the law as laid down by the Supreme Court and the High Court in earlier judgements. This led the court to conclude that private clinics can’t be interpreted as a commercial activity under the mandate of Bombay Shops and Establishment Act.

Image credits: womensnews.org

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