The Supreme Court of India has issued a notice to the Union government in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Advocate Ashwini Upadhyay, who seeks to expand the Ayushman Bharat scheme to include Ayurveda, yoga, and naturopathy.

A bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, issued the notice and requested a response from the Union.

Upadhyay's petition urges the central and state governments to incorporate these traditional health practices into the National Health Protection Mission (PM-JAY) under Ayushman Bharat, to uphold citizens' right to health. The PIL argues that existing healthcare services provided through Health and Wellness Centers (HWCs) and the PM-JAY framework are currently limited and insufficient to meet the constitutional guarantee of health for all.

The PIL further highlights that India is a country rich in various great traditions of sages and has clear evidence of this in various available scriptures, Vedas, Puranas, Upanishads, etc. "Unfortunately, due to various policies created by foreign rulers and individuals with a colonial mindset, our cultural, intellectual knowledge, and scientific heritage have been systematically eroded. Along with this, these foreigners, motivated by a profit-oriented approach, have thoughtfully implemented many laws and schemes during the time of our country's independence that have slowly undermined our rich heritage and history," PIL reads.

Baxk in January this year, the Delhi High Court rejected the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Ashwini Upadhyay due to the absence of counsel for both sides. The bench ruled, "The petition is dismissed in default on account of non-prosecution."