K.Venkateswarlu VsState Of Telangana

This Writ Petition is filed by the petitioner to suspend the proceedings dt.30.07.2020 issued by the Principal, Government Nizamia Tibbi College,

Hyderabad (4th respondent) and for a direction to the 4th respondent to provisionally readmit him in the 4th respondent institution and permit him to

appear for Second BUMS professional course examinations in the said college scheduled to be held in October/November, 2021.

It is the case of the petitioner that he belongs to SC (Madiga) community, that he appeared for entrance examination in Bachelor of Unani and

Medical Surgery Entrance Test (BUMS) in 2010-11, that he secured 95th rank and was allotted a seat in the 4th respondent college.

He stated that he joined the said course on 01.11.2010; that the duration of the course is 4½ years including 12 months internship; that he

completed the first professional course in BUMS by September, 2018 and continued to attend the course for the second professional course.

He stated that he could not attend classes from March, 2019 to February, 2020 due to severe ill-health issues and family problems due to the sudden

demise of his father; that he absented classes from 01.03.2019 to February, 2020; and after recovery from ill-health, he attended the college on

12.03.2020. He gave a list of events which transpired between 2014 and 2019 in para 5 of the Writ Petition as under:

(i) I submit that I have suffered from viral fever with thrombocytopenia, which is a condition characterized by abnormally low levels of

platelets. I was admitted for treatment in JVSS Multi Specialty Hospital, Hastinapuram, L.B.Nagar, Hyderabad from 31-7-2014 to 6-8-2014

with I.P.No. 0766.

(ii) Added to that my father met with a major accident wherein an RTC bus crushed my father right leg on 18-10-2015. As FIR Crime No.326

of 2015 was registered in Gopalapuram Police Station, Secunderabad.

(iii) My brother Sri Kanthi Srinivas has suddenly expired on 1-6-2016.

(iv) I again stuck with viral fever with thrombocytopenia and admitted in the JVSS Multi Specialty Hospital, Hastinapuram, L.B.Nagar,

Hyderabad from 24-9-2016 to 30-9-2016 with IP No. 1417.

(v) Eventually, after suffering certain past accident ailments, my father at last breathed his last on 7-5-2019 (death certificate enclosed).

(vi) Added to that I fell severely ill due to Dengue Fever with thrombocytopenia and admitted in Sri Laxmi Multi Specialty Hospital, Nagole,

Hyderabad from 25-10-2019 to 30-11-2019. IP No.00658.

The petitioner alleged that he came to know that second professional course examination dates of II year BUMS course were released by the 4th

respondent, but he was not allowed to pay the examination fee on the ground that he lacked attendance.

He submitted a representation on 20.03.2020 to the Registrar, Dr. N.T.R. University of Health Sciences, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh and also

enclosed Rs.7,000/- through a demand draft for readmission seeking permission to continue the course; that the 4th respondent forwarded the

petitioner’s representation through a letter dt.28.05.2020 to the University, but the University issued proceedings on 30.07.2020 rejecting the

petitioner’s request for readmission quoting Regulation (vii) which dealt with ‘Re-admission after break of study’.

The petitioner placed reliance on Regulation 13 which permitted sanction of leave of absence beyond 3 months and termination of studentship,

which stated as under:

“13. Every student shall attend his/her classes (Theory, Practical and Clinicals) on all working days unless he/she is granted leave of

absence by the Principal. If a student absent continuously for a period of 91 days or more and seeks permission to attend the course before

one year after discontinuation his/her application shall be forwarded to the Registrar with the recommendations of the Principal. If the

Vice-Chancellor is satisfied with the reasons, he may grant leave of absence attaching such conditions as he may deem necessary.

Candidates who are absent for continuous period of one year or more without permission shall be deemed to have forfeited the admission

into the course and his/her studentship shall stand cancelled without any further notice.â€​

Counsel for the petitioner contended that the rejection of the petitioner’s request for readmission into the said course is inhuman and against the

Regulations and he was not given any opportunity of being heard personally by the respondents before rejecting his request for readmission. He also

stated that he was not supplied with the orders dt.30.07.2020 of the Vice Chancellor, but he had only received the proceedings dt.30.07.2020 of the

Registrar of the University through the 4th respondent college and the action of the respondents is illegal and arbitrary.

Heard the counsel for the petitioner and Sri A.Prabhakar Rao, counsel for the 3rd respondent university.

It is not in dispute that the petitioner had been admitted into professional course of BUMS whose duration is 4½ years which included 12 months

internship. He joined the course on 01.11.2010 after being successful in BUMS entrance examination for the academic year 2010-11. The petitioner

had to therefore complete the said course latest by 2016.

Admittedly, the petitioner completed first year in September, 2018 and did not attend classes from March, 2019 to February, 2020 claiming that

during this period, his father died and he also fell sick.

The events mentioned by the petitioner at serial nos.(i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v) and (vi) in para 4 supra had occurred long before March, 2019 and cannot

be taken as a ground for his absence for the period 01.03.2019 to March, 2020, which is about a year.

The prospectus issued for admission to the BUMS course filed by the petitioner records at para 13 as under:

“13. SANCTION OF LEAVE OF ABSENCE BEYOND 3 MONTHS AND TERMINATION OF STUDENTSHIP:

Every student shall attend his/her classes (Theory, Practical and Clinicals) on all working days unless he/she is granted leave of absence by the

Principal. If a student absent continuously for a period of 91 days or more and seeks permission to attend the course before one year after

discontinuation his/her application shall be forwarded to the Registrar with the recommendations of the Principal. If the Vice-Chancellor is satisfied

with the reasons, he may grant leave of absence attaching such conditions as he may deem necessary. Candidates who are absent for continuous

period of one year or more without permission shall be deemed to have forfeited the admission into the course and his/her studentship shall stand

cancelled without any further notice.â€​

Thus a student is required to attend classes unless otherwise granted leave of absence. The above provisdion specifically states that the candidates

who are absent for a continuous period of one year or more without permission shall be deemed to have forfeited the admission into the course and

his/her studentship shall stand cancelled without any further notice.

Since according to the petitioner’s admission itself, he was absent from 01.03.2019 to February, 2020 which is one year period, automatically

the above provision, which provides for forfeiture of admission, operates because no permission was accorded for such absence and the studentship of

the petitioner stood cancelled. There is no need to give any prior notice at all as the petitioner is presumed to know the consequences of the continuous

absence for one year.

Having regard to the fact that the petitioner was admitted to a professional course, and lack of attendance of classes would affect his professional

knowledge and expertise, which would in turn have an impact on the patients who would be treated by him if he were to be allowed to complete the

course, we are unable to come to the aid of the petitioner and grant him any relief in the Writ Petition though we sympathize with the petitioner.

We do not find any illegality or irregularity in the order dt.30.07.2020 passed by the 3rd respondent and communicated by the 4th respondent to the

petitioner refusing to readmit the petitioner into BUMS course which he had discontinued.

The Writ Petition accordingly fails and is dismissed. No costs.

Pending miscellaneous petitions, if any, in this Writ Petition shall also stand dismissed.