This petition has been filed by the Madras Presidency Homoeopathic Association, Chennai (in short the petitioner association) for issuance of a writ of certiorari calling for the records of the respondent council in its communication no.277/TNHMC/04 dated 21.06.2004 and to quash the same insofar as the petitioner is concerned.

2. The case of the petitioner association, in brief, is as under:

a. It was established in 1937 as a Society registered under the Societies Registration Act for the propagation of the system of Homoeopathic medicine and has been conducting lecture classes on Homoeopathic system of medicine from 1954. After the Tamil Nadu Homoeopathy System of Medicine and Practitioners of Homoeopathy Act, 1971 (in short ‘the Act’) was passed, only those who are registered under the Act are eligible to practice Homoeopathy and as such, the members of the petitioner association who got themselves registered under the Act are now practising Homoeopathy. After the Act was enacted, the petitioner association is conducting Sunday lecture classes for its members on a regular basis in the form of a three-year course to spread awareness on Homoeopathy and to impart knowledge about the efficacy on the system and its members are not entitled to practise as a medical practitioner on getting the course completion certificate. As a token of appreciation of the activities of the petitioner association, Dr. Durai Aranganar has donated his building at Aminjikarai for the establishment and running of a Homoeopathic hospital wherein a Homoeopathic clinic is run in addition to the one at Mylapore. Many prominent personalities like Justice Patanjali Sastri, Judge, Supreme Court, Dr. N.M. Choudhary, eminent doctor from Bengal, Mr.V.V. Giri, former Indian President, Justice P. Ramakrishnan, Justice N. Krishnaswamy Reddy, Judges of Madras High Court, Justice P.R. Gokulakrishnan, Retd. Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court, and Dr. H.S.N. Royce, Principal of Medical College, Bangalore, have been Presidents of the petitioner association. Further. Dr. C. Sriramulu, and Dr. S.P. Kopikkar, the then General Secretaries of the petitioner association were nominated by the Tamil Nadu Government as the President of the respondent council.

b. Subsequent to the passing of the Act, the petitioner association has restricted its week-end lecture classes to its members, only for the purpose of spreading awareness of the Homoeopathy system of medicine by collecting a nominal sum of Rs.200/-per month to meet conveyance, accommodation and administrative expenses in the process of conduct of such lectures and its members were all informed that they will not be entitled to practise Homoeopathy since they cannot be registered with the respondent council and this fact is also brought out in the application form and prospectus issued at the time of admitting the members. The activities of the petitioner association also include conduct of frequent free medical camps at various places like slums to cater to the poorer sections of the society.

c. The facts being so, the respondent council, namely, Tamil Nadu Homoeopathy Medical Council, has addressed a letter dated 21.06.2004 to the petitioner association alleging quacks in Homoeopathy and directing the petitioner association to stop forthwith conducting such unlawful courses in Homoeopathy and the petitioner association too, stopped the conduct of such courses as directed.

3. The main grounds urged by the petitioner association in this writ petition are that:

a. though the respondent council has cited a communication dated 25.05.2004 from the Central Council of Homoeopathy, New Delhi and the other dated 02.06.2004 from the State Government, they have not been furnished to the petitioner association and thus, it is prevented from defending its case effectively;

b. the allegation in the impugned order that the lecture classes of the petitioner association are violative of Section 27 of the Act, cannot be sustai