Chennai, May 1 (IANS): The Tamil Nadu government on Sunday relieved Madurai Government Medical College's Dean Dr A. Ratnavel over MBBS students of the college taking 'Maharshi Charak Shapath' instead of the traditional Hippocratic oath.

Ratnavel has been put on the waiting list.

A release from the Medical Education Department on Sunday said that fresh students of Madurai medical college were administered 'Maharshi Charak Shapath' instead of the traditional Hippocratic oath.

State Health Minister Ma Subramanian told IANS that the government would conduct a departmental inquiry against the dean to find the reason for administering 'Maharshi Charak Shapath' without consent from the state government.

The Charah Shapath is a passage from the Charak Samhitha and the National Medical Commission had recommended that it should replace the Hippocratic oath for fresh MBBS students.

However, the Union Health Ministry had said that 'Maharshi Charak Shapath' is optional and cannot be forced on medical students. Tamil Nadu government had directed state-run medical colleges to stick to the Hippocratic oath, which is widely used across the globe.