New Delhi, Oct 20: The Supreme Court has referred to a larger bench the question of whether practitioners of indigenous medical systems such as Ayurveda, Unani, and Homeopathy (AYUSH) can be treated on par with allopathic doctors for determining service conditions, retirement age, and pay scales.

The decision follows a May 13 hearing, where a bench led by Chief Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran had reserved its order on pleas challenging the different retirement ages for allopathic and AYUSH doctors in government service. The bench noted a “divergence of opinion” in previous rulings, prompting the reference to a larger bench for an authoritative pronouncement.

Until the larger bench decides, states can continue AYUSH doctors beyond their current superannuation age up to th

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