Quackery is the Biggest Disease Affecting India: CJI

The Chief Justice of India NV Ramana on Tuesday said that legislation needs to be brought in to save people "from falling prey to fraudulent practices in the name of treatment".

Speaking at the inaugural National Academy of Medical Sciences on 'Law and Medicine', the CJI said: "Quackery is the biggest disease affecting India".

He also lamented the fact that hospitals are "being run like companies, where profit-making is more important than service to society". Speaking on the occasion, the CJI added "another side of lack of accessible healthcare is giving space to quacks. Quackery begins where awareness ends. Where there is room for myths, there is room for quackery".

Elaborating his point, he added: "Owing to the financial and time constraints, a huge majority of the Indian population approaches these untrained and uncertified doctors. Lack of awareness and knowledge, misplaced belief, and sheer inaccessibility has massive ramifications on the health of the country, particularly the rural and under-privileged India".

Underlining the menace, the outgoing CJI said: "The need of the hour is to bring in legislation to save people from falling prey to fraudulent practices in the name of treatment".

"Private hospitals are being opened at an exponential rate. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but there is a glaring need for balance. We are seeing hospitals being run like companies, where profit-making is more important than service to society," the CJI added.