R V DENTAL COLLEGE Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE Writ Petitions filed by R. V. Dental College and the students, who have passed out from the same raise common questions for consideration and shall stand disposed of by this order.

(2.) IN W. P. No. 8496/2000 filed by the College, a declaration to the effect that the permission granted by the Central Government under Sec. 10a of the Dentists Act should be treated as one under Sec. 10c of the Act has been prayed for. WPs. No. 31649/2000, 32720 and 21/2000, 2019-21/2001 and 2418/2001 have been filed by students of the petitioner-College, who have taken admission to different Post Graduate Courses in Dental Sciences, which admissions the University has declined to approve on the ground that the dental qualification acquired by them not being a recognised qualification, the petitioners are not entitled to pursue any such Course. In WPs No. 38437-39/2000, students who have passed out from the petitioner-College have assailed the denial of permission to appear in the competitive test held by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences for Admission to different Post Graduate Dental Courses.

(3.) THE controversy arises in the following circumstances :-Pursuant to an order dated 8th of June 1992 issued by the State Government, Rashtriya Shikshak Samithi Trust established what is known as R. V. Dental College at Jayanagar at Bangalore. Affiliation to the said Institution was granted by the Bangalore University in terms of a notification dated 28th of August 1992. With the introduction of Sections 10a, 10b and 10c in the Dentists Act, the petitioner-College submitted to the Central Government on 4th of April 1994 what it considers to be a Scheme in terms of Sections 10a and 10c of the Act. The Central Government did not however consider the scheme as one under Sec. 10c and forwarded the same to the Dental Council of India in August 1994 for evaluation and recommendations under Sec. 10a of the Act. On receipt of the recommendations made by the Dental Council and subject to the removal of deficiencies noted by the Central Government, a letter of intent was issued in favour of the petitioner-College on 11th of October 1995 with an intake of 40 admissions per year from the academic session 1995-96. This was followed by a formal permission granted in terms of an order dated 30th of October 1995. The permission was limited to a period of one year i. e. for the session 1995-96 only. Permission for the next academic session viz. , 1996-97 was given only in January 1999, which was not extended to the 3rd year. The 4th year permission eventually came in terms of an order dated 9th of July 2000, granted pursuant to a new Scheme evolved by the Central Government, a reference whereto shall be made in greater detail at the appropriate stage. Suffice it to say that the permission for the 4th year was granted to the College upon its filing an undertaking, according to which the College has agreed not only to reduce the Management' share of seats by 50% but also to acquire a plot of land measuring five acres besides providing the necessary infrastructural facilities as stipulated under the Regulations of the Dental Council, within a period of two years. The College had in the meantime filed Writ Petition No. 8496/2000 for a declaration as noticed earlier that the permission granted in its favour under Section 10-A of the Dentists Act, should be construed as one granted under Section 10-C thereof. The rest of the writ petitions in this batch as noticed earlier assail the view taken by the Union of India, University of Health Sciences and All India Institute of Medical Sciences to the effect that the Dental Qualifications acquired by them are unrecognised, making the petitioners ineligible for admission to or continuance in any post graduate course in Dental Science.