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Judgment
,,,,,,,
The petitioner Trust is running Sree Narayana Guru Memorial Pharmacy College at Valamangalam South, Thuravoor, which is a Self-Financing",,,,,,,
College conducting D.Pharm course, with the approval of the Pharmacy Council of India and the affiliation of the 3rd respondent Director of Medical",,,,,,,
Education, Kerala. The petitioner has filed this writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, seeking a writ of certiorari to quash Ext.P7",,,,,,,
order dated 14.03.2020 of the 1st respondent State, whereby Ext.P3 application dated 20.08.2019 made by the petitioner for issuance of no-objection",,,,,,,
certificate for starting B.Pharm course in that college, during the academic year 2020-21, stands rejected, for the reasons stated therein. The petitioner",,,,,,,
has also sought for a writ of mandamus commanding the 1st respondent State to consider and dispose of Ext.P8 application dated 03.12.2020 made by,,,,,,,
the petitioner seeking no-objection certificate for starting B.Pharm course in its college, during the academic year 2021-22, within a time limit to be",,,,,,,
fixed by this Court; and a declaration that the petitioner's college is eligible to get no-objection certificate from the 1st respondent State, for starting",,,,,,,
B.Pharm course, during the academic year 2021-22.",,,,,,,
On 16.12.2020, when this writ petition came up for admission, the learned Government Pleader sought time to get instructions.",,,,,,,
A statement dated 15.01.2021 has been filed on behalf of the 1st respondent State, opposing the reliefs sought for in this writ petition. The petitioner",,,,,,,
has filed a reply affidavit dated 20.01.2021.,,,,,,,
Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner, the learned Special Government Pleader for respondents 1 and 3 and also the learned Assistant",,,,,,,
Solicitor General of India appearing for the 4th respondent.,,,,,,,
The issue that arises for consideration in this writ petition is as to whether any interference is warranted on Ext.P7 order dated 14.03.2020 of the,,,,,,,
1st respondent State, whereby Ext.P3 application made by the petitioner for grant of no-objection certificate for starting B.Pharm course in its college,",,,,,,,
during the academic year 2020-21, stands rejected.",,,,,,,
Section 12 of the Pharmacy Act, 1948 deals with approved courses of study and examinations. As per sub-section (1) of Section 12, any authority",,,,,,,
in a State which conducts a course of study for pharmacists may apply to the Central Council for approval of the course, and the Central Council, if",,,,,,,
satisfied, after such enquiry as it thinks fit to make, that the said course of study is in conformity with the Education Regulations, shall declare the said",,,,,,,
course of study to be an approved course of study for the purpose of admission to an approved examination for pharmacists.,,,,,,,
In exercise of the powers conferred by Sections 10 and 18 of the Pharmacy Act, 1948, the Pharmacy Council of India, with the approval of the",,,,,,,
Central Government made the Bachelor of Pharmacy (B.Pharm) Course Regulations, 2014. As per Regulation 3, the duration of B.Pharm course",,,,,,,
shall be four academic years (annual/semester) full time with each academic year spread over a period of not less than two hundred working days for,,,,,,,
annual pattern and hundred working days for each semester. As per sub-regulation (1) of Regulation 9, no person, institution, society, trust or",,,,,,,
university shall start and conduct B.Pharm programme without the prior approval of the Pharmacy Council of India.,,,,,,,
As per sub-regulation (2) of Regulation 9 of the Course Regulations, 2014, any person or pharmacy college for the purpose of obtaining permission",,,,,,,
under sub-section (1) of section 12 of the Pharmacy Act, shall submit a scheme as may be prescribed by the Pharmacy Council of India. As per",,,,,,,
clause (3) of Regulation 9, the scheme referred to in sub-regulation (2) above, shall be in such form and contain such particulars and be preferred in",,,,,,,
such manner and be accompanied with such fee as may be prescribed. As per the proviso to Regulation 9, the Pharmacy Council of India shall not",,,,,,,
approve any institution under these regulations unless it provides adequate arrangements for teaching in regard to building, accommodation, labs,",,,,,,,
equipment, teaching staff, non-teaching staff, etc., as specified in Appendix A to these regulations.",,,,,,,
Appendix A of the Course Regulations, 2014 deals with conditions to be fulfilled by the academic training institution. As per para. (1) of Appendix",,,,,,,
A, any authority or institution in India applying to the Pharmacy Council of India for approval of courses of study for B.Pharm under sub-section (1) of",,,,,,,
section 12 of the Pharmacy Act shall comply with the infrastructural facilities as prescribed by the Pharmacy Council of India from time to time. As,,,,,,,
per para. (2), B.Pharm programme shall be conducted only in those institutions which are approved by the Pharmacy Council of India for B.Pharm",,,,,,,
course, as provided under Section 12 of the Pharmacy Act. Para. (3) of Appendix A deals with teaching staff requirement; para. (4) deals with non-",,,,,,,
teaching staff; para. (5) deals with accommodation; and para. (6) deals with equipment and apparatus.,,,,,,,
The petitioner submitted Ext.P3 application dated 20.08.2019 before the 1st respondent State for grant of no-objection certificate for starting,,,,,,,
B.Pharm course in its college, during the academic year 2020-21. Ext.P3 application stands rejected by Ext.P7 order dated 14.03.2020 of the 1st",,,,,,,
respondent State. Paragraphs 2 and 3 of that order read thus;,,,,,,,
“2. The present scenario in respect of the B.Pharm courses in the State of Kerala is that there are 48 institutions which are conducting Degree,,,,,,,
Course in Pharmacy. After an analysis of the situation that prevail in the State with respect to the employment opportunity of Degree Holders in,,,,,,,
Pharmacy as also the employability of those candidates who pass out B.Pharm from Self Financing Institutions are concerned, it was reported by the",,,,,,,
Director of Medical Education that there are serious issues with unemployment of Degree Holders in Pharmacy and also by the proliferation of,,,,,,,
Pharmacy Colleges/Institutions, unhealthy competition exists and the standards of education is depleting and the quality of the students who pass out",,,,,,,
from such Self Financing Institutions is alarming. Based on the study conducted, the Director of Medical Education had reported to the Government",,,,,,,
that there is no need to sanction new Pharmacy institution imparting Bachelor of Pharmacy Course in Self Financing Sector in the State as there is no,,,,,,,
demand for such qualified hand in the State and that the present sanctioned strength will satisfy the requirement. It could be most inappropriate to start,,,,,,,
new institutions for imparting Pharmacy Courses without assessing the educational need in the State.,,,,,,,
Government have examined the matter in detail and in the light of the above facts, the request for NOC for starting the new B.Pharm college in the",,,,,,,
existing self financing diploma level Sree Narayana Guru Memorial Pharmacy College is hereby rejected.â€,,,,,,,
Though Ext.P7 order of the 1st respondent State is one dated 14.03.2020, the petitioner has chosen to file this writ petition only on 15.12.2020,",,,,,,,
challenging the rejection of Ext.P3 application made for grant of no-objection certificate for starting B.Pharm course in its college, during the",,,,,,,
academic year 2020-21. In the writ petition, the petitioner has not offered any explanation whatsoever for the delay of nearly nine months in",,,,,,,
challenging Ext.P7 order of the 1st respondent State.,,,,,,,
Vide letter No.14-56/2019-PCI (Moratorium)/3720-3826 dated 17.07.2019, the Pharmacy Council of India put a moratorium on the opening of new",,,,,,,
pharmacy colleges for running D.Pharm as well as B.Pharm courses for a period of five years beginning from the academic year 2020-21. Such a,,,,,,,
resolution was taken unanimously, in the 106th meeting of the Central Council held on 9th & 10th April, 2019 taking into consideration the availability",,,,,,,
of sufficient qualified pharmacist workforce in the country. The moratorium shall not be applicable in the North Eastern region of the country where,,,,,,,
there is shortage of pharmacy colleges. The Central Council in its 106th meeting noted that there are approximately 1,985 D.Pharm and 1,439",,,,,,,
B.Pharm institutions in the country. The annual intake of students in these institutions (both D.Pharm and B.Pharm) is 2,19,279. This available",,,,,,,
Sl. No,State,"Population in
Lakhs","No. of
Doctors
registered
(2017)","Doctor per
1000
population","No. of
pharmacist
registered
(2017)","Pharmacis t
per 1000
population","No. of
pharmacist
per doctor
1.,"Andhra
Pradesh",894,86129,0.96,115754,1.3,1.34
2.,"Arunachal
pradesh",16.01,840,0.525,279,0.17,0.332
3.,Assam,344.9,22532,0.65,3668,0.10,0.162
4.,Bihar,1089.2,40043,0.36,4163,0.04,0.1039
5.,Chattisgarh,288,6915,0.24,9713,0.33,1.40
6.,Delhi,186,16176,0.87,32075,1.72,1.98
7.,Goa,15.09,3367,2.24,566,0.37,0.154
8.,Gujrat,671,53954,0.80,119445,1.78,2.213
9.,Haryana,279.6,5717,0.20,31663,1.13,5.53
10.,"Himachal
Pradesh",76.28,2849,0.38,3852,0.50,1.35
11.,J&K,142,14326,1.00,,,
12.,Jharkhand,377,5093,0.135,2337,0.061,0.45
13.,Karnataka,671.5,104794,1.56,52162,0.77,0.497
14.,"Madhya
Pradesh",788.1,34347,0.435,NA,,
15.,Maharashtra,1206.8,153513,1.27,203089,1.68,1.32
16.,MCI,52666,,,,,
17.,Nagaland,31.2,801,0.25,1553,0.73,1.938
18.,Odisha,453.4,21681,0.48,17665,0.39,0.814
19.,Punjab,299.2,44682,1.5,44616,1.49,0.998
20.,Rajasthan,748.8,40559,0.54,38156,0.51,0.94
21.,Sikkim,6.43,893,1.48,NA,,
22.,Tamil Nadu,797.8,126399,1.58,58466,0.73,0.46
23.,Kerala,369.6,55251,1.50,35382,0.95,0.64
24.,"Uttar
Pradesh",2192.4,71480,0.33,30276,0.14,0.42
25.,Uttrakhand,103.2,7060,0.68,2643,0.25,0.375
26.,West Bengal,954,66974,0.70,89630,0.93,1.33
27.,Telengana,391.2,2354,0.06,NA,,
28.,Meghalaya,34.7,,,1370,0.40,
29.,Mizoram,15.1,,,1313,0.87,
30.,Tripura,44.2,,,4747,1.07,
31.,"Daman &
Diu",3,,,52,0.17,
32,Puducherry,7.45,,,2493,3.34,
adversely affect the health of the general public.,,,,,,,
The no-objection certificate/essentiality certificate of the 1st respondent State is a mandatory document, which has to be submitted by an institution",,,,,,,
seeking approval/affiliation for conducting B.Pharm or D.Pharm course. Consideration of the request for no-objection certificate/essentiality,,,,,,,
certificate by the 1st respondent State should be in a fair manner and the procedure that has to be adopted should be one in conformity with the,,,,,,,
principles of natural justice. The materials or data collected by the 1st respondent State, through the 3rd respondent Director of Medical Education,",,,,,,,
should be made available to the applicant, who should be given an opportunity of being heard and the decision taken by the 1st respondent State should",,,,,,,
reflect application of mind to the relevant aspects.,,,,,,,
As already noticed hereinbefore, though Ext.P7 order of the 1st respondent is one dated 14.03.2020, whereby Ext.P3 application made by the",,,,,,,
petitioner for issuance of no-objection certificate for starting B.Pharm course in its college, during the academic year 2020-21 stands rejected, the",,,,,,,
petitioner has chosen to file this writ petition challenging the said order only on 15.12.2020. At this distance of time, no interference is warranted on",,,,,,,
Ext.P7 order, since Ext.P3 application is for the academic year 2020-21.",,,,,,,
By Ext.P1 communication dated 09.09.2019, the Pharmacy Council of India has resolved that the moratorium on the opening of new pharmacy",,,,,,,
colleges for running Diploma as well as Degree courses in pharmacy for a period of 5 years beginning from the academic year 2020-21 will be subject,,,,,,,
to certain conditions stipulated therein. The 1st respondent State has to consider Ext.P8 application made by the petitioner seeking no-objection,,,,,,,
certificate for starting B.Pharm course, for the academic year 2021-22, by considering the entire issue afresh, taking note of the conditions stipulated",,,,,,,
in Ext.P1 and also the observations contained in this judgment. Any materials or data collected through the 3rd respondent Director of Medical,,,,,,,
Education on the request made by the petitioner for no-objection certificate shall be made available to the petitioner and the petitioner shall be,,,,,,,
permitted to submit written submission raising appropriate legal and factual contentions, which shall be adverted to by the 1st respondent State while",,,,,,,
taking a decision on Ext.P8 application.,,,,,,,
Therefore, this writ petition is disposed of by directing the 1st respondent State to undertake the exercise of consideration of Ext.P8 application made",,,,,,,
by the petitioner, as directed above, and pass a reasoned order, as expeditiously as possible, at any rate, within a period of three weeks from the date",,,,,,,
of receipt of a certified copy of this judgment.,,,,,,,