NOORUL ISLAM TRUST Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In all these writ petitions, the petitioners are Institutions/Trusts running Pharmacy Colleges, imparting B.Pharm and D.Pharm Courses. The issue involved in these writ petitions is as regards non-issuance of No Objection Certificate (NOC) by the State of Kerala for the D.Pharm Courses of the petitioners and consequential refusal by the Director of Medical Education, the examining body, to affiliate the D.Pharm Courses of the petitioners, which in turn ousted the Colleges from the Centralised Allotment Process (CAP) conducted by the LBS Centre for Science and Technology on behalf of the Government of Kerala and the Director of Medical Education (DME).

(2.) The academic years in issue are 2019-'20 and 2020-'21. When these writ petitions came up for admission, this Court passed interim orders directing that the petitioners-Colleges be included in the Centralised Allotment Process and to register the students in the petitioners-Colleges for the D.Pharm Courses for the academic years provisionally and pending disposal of the writ petitions.

(3.) The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has granted approval for the D.Pharm Courses conducted by the petitioners for the relevant academic years. The Pharmacy Council of India has also granted approval. The approval is granted after due inspection of the institutions and after ascertaining that the petitioners-Colleges have requisite infrastructure, faculty and other mandatory requirements as laid down by the PCI. However, the DME did not grant affiliation to the D.Pharm Courses and insisted for an NOC from the State Government as a condition for affiliation.