SWAMY VIVEKANANDA EDUCATIONAL Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner No.2 is an educational institution to be established by the petitioner No.1 for imparting education in Ayurveda leading to a bachelor of Ayurvedic Medical Sciences (for short 'BAMS'). The petitioner No.1 in order to establish the petitioner No.2 had to obtain the requisite permission from the respondent No.1 under Section 13(A) of the Indian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970 (for short 'IMCC Act, 1970'). The predecessor of the respondent No.2 had issued a notification dated 11.07.2019 prescribing 1st July to 31st August as the schedule, during which, applications to be filed with the respondent No.1 for grant of permission under Section 13(A) of the IMCC Act, 1970. However, due to Covid-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Ayush by letter dated 31.08.2020 had extended the last date of application upto September, 2020 for the academic year 2020-21. The petitioner No.2 sought grant of affiliation from the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences Karnataka (for short 'RGUHS') for the academic year 2021-22. The same was granted on 31.08.2020. On 31.08.2020, the petitioner No.2 sought no objection certificate from the Government of Karnataka for establishment of the petitioner No.2 under Regulation 6(1)(c) of the Establishment of New Medical College Etc. Regulations, 2003 (for short 'Regulations, 2003'), based on the affiliation granted by RGUHS. The Department of Ayush, Government of Karnataka deputed an inspection committee to inspect the petitioner No.2, which, however did not give a clear report. Later, Ayush Department again set up a second inspection committee, who after verification found that the petitioner No.2 possessed all the required and prescribed infrastructure. The Department of Ayush thereafter granted a no objection certificate on 08.10.2020 recommending the case of the petitioner No.2 for establishment of an Ayurveda College imparting BAMS degree course with an intake capacity of 60 seats. The Department of Ayush thereafter forwarded the application of the petitioners along with the no objection certificate and affiliation to the respondent No.1 and requested the respondent No.1 to treat the case of the petitioners as a special one for the academic year 2021-22, since the petitioners could not file the application within 30th September, 2020, as the inspection by Ayush Department was delayed. The respondent No.1 ignoring the mistake owned up by the State Government, rejected the application filed by the petitioners on the ground that it was filed beyond 30th September, 2020. This writ petition is therefore filed to quash the rejection of the request of the petitioners for grant of permission to start the new Ayurveda Medical College for the academic year 2021-22.

(2.) The learned counsel for the petitioners contended that the department of Ayush had conducted a thorough and piercing enquiry and found that the petitioners possessed all the requisite infrastructure for establishment of a new medical college in terms of Section 13(A) of IMCC Act, 1970 as well as under the Regulations, 2003. He contended that the delay in filing the application seeking permission from the respondent No.1 was solely attributable to the delay in conducting the inspection by the Department of Ayush, Government of Karnataka, for which, the petitioners cannot be penalized. He further submitted that the petitioners have spent enormously for the establishment of the college and therefore if the petitioners are not permitted to admit the students for the academic year 2021-22, they would be put to great loss.

(3.) Per contra, the learned counsel for the respondent No.1 submitted that if the application is not filed within time, then the same deserves to be rejected as under the IMCC Act, 1970, the inspection and other works have to be concluded at the earliest and therefore any delay in filing the application would have a cascading effect. He also submitted that the petitioners cannot be permitted to admit students without a permission as stipulated under Section 13(A) of the IMCC Act, 1970.