B. Siva Sankara Rao, J.

Among the petitioners 1 to 3, the petitioner No.3 Dr. Rev. K.V.K. Rao, arrayed individually is no other than the Chairman and Correspondent of two other petitioners viz; Joseph Sriharsha & Mary Indraja Educational Society, Hyderabad and St. Mary's Group of Institution, Guntur. The Respondents 1 to 7 are viz; Union of India, through Ministry of HRD-R.1, The Pharmacy Council of India-R.2 (for short, 'the PCI'), All India Council for Technical Education-R.3 (for short, 'the AICTE'), Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Kakinada,R.4 (for short, 'JNTU'), Conveners CETs-AC SW III 2017-R.5 (for short 'CET-17), the A.P. State Council for Higher Education, Vijayavvada-R.6 (for short, 'APSCHE') and the State of Andhra Pradesh rep. by its Principal Secretary-R.7.

2. The prayer in the Writ Petition reads as follows:-

"To issue writ/order and direction more particularly in nature of writ of Mandamus declaring the action of the 4th respondent in granting affiliation to the 2nd petitioner for a limited intake of 100 seats in B. Pharmacy course, vide the impugned proceeding No. JNTUK/DAP/B 1/B.Tech/B. Pharmacy/2017-18, dated 09.06.2017 in respect of the 2nd petitioner, on the basis of the policy of the 2nd respondent ignoring the approval granted by the 3rd respondent for an intake of 180 seats as arbitrary and illegal, ultra-virus the JNTU Act, 2008 and Statutory Regulations and issue a further declaration that

(a) the 3td respondent AICTE is the only competent authority to determine the adequacy of faculty and infrastructure for the purpose of granting approval for intake of students in all technical courses/programs including Pharmacy courses/programs;

(b) the 2nd respondent Pharmacy Council of India is not competent to determine the number of students to be given admission as the same is beyond the scope of the Pharmacy Act, 1948 and further declare the letter issued by Pharmacy Council of India to the Petitioner's Institution bearing document No.32-887/2014/15681-87, dated 01.07.2016 and the decision taken by PCI in its 100th CC dated 14th and 15th November,2016 are illegal, ultra vires the Pharmacy Act, 1948 and AICTE Act, 1987 and arbitrary, irrational and unreasonable and violative of Article 14 and 19(1)(g) of the Constitution with a further direction to the 2nd respondent and its affiliates to register such Pharmacists under the Pharmacists Act, 1948 and pass such further order or orders as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the present case."

3. The averments in the writ petition supporting affidavit of the 3rd Petitioner are that the 2nd petitioner institutions that is established by the 1st petitioner, is approved by the PCI-R.2 and AICTE-R.3, affiliated to JNTU-R.4 is also recognized by National Commission for Minority institutions, as a Christian Minority institution since May, 2009 and of which the PCI is established under the Pharmacy Act, 1948 to regulate the education and practice of provision of Pharmacy, the AICTE-R.3 is established under the AICTE Act, 1987 which authorized to grant approval for establishing and operating institutions to impart technical education and JNTU-R.4 is established under JNTU Act, 2008 (State Act) in exercising functions granting affiliation to colleges within its territorial jurisdiction.

4. The JNTU-R.4 granted affiliation to the 2nd petitioner for the academic 2007-08 for the intake as approved by the AICTE-R.2, however for the academic year 2016-17 though initially granted affiliation for full intake of 180 seats, subsequently reduced to 100 on the ground that the PCI-R.2 is granting approval only for 100 intake and said action challenged by the petitioner in W.P.No. 18788 of 2016 which is still pending. The Saint Mary's College of Pharmacy is in fact established in 2007 by the 1st petitioner with intake of 50 seats. Later as per the policy of AICTE-R.3 from different colleges of same society imparting different courses