In Brief
The Supreme Court upheld the striking down of Assam's Diploma in Medicine and Rural Health Care Act as unconstitutional, but clarified the legal reasoning. Though education is concurrent, states cannot legislate on allopathic medicine standards—that power lies exclusively with Parliament under Entry 66 of the Constitution's Union List. The Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 comprehensively regulates medical education nationwide. However, the Court validated a subsequent 2015 state law reclassifying diploma holders as paramedical professionals rather than practitioners, since it does not regulate allopathic practitioners and thus does not conflict with central law.
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