The court upheld the rejection of an application to establish a new Ayurveda medical college due to failure to submit the necessary consent of affiliation on time, highlighting the importance of compliance with regulatory deadlines.

JUDGMENT

Prateek Jalan, J. (Oral)

The proceedings in the matter have been conducted through video conferencing.

CM APPLs. 30200-30201/2020 (for exemptions)

Exemptions allowed, subject to all just exceptions.

These applications stand disposed of.

W.P.(C) 9368/2020 and CM APPL. 30199/2020 (for interim relief)

1. By way of this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution, the petitioner assails an order of the respondent No. 1-Union of India ["UOI"] dated 05.10.2020, by which the petitioner's application for permission to establish a new Ayurveda medical college in the academic year 2021-22 was rejected and returned by the UOI.

2. The contention of the petitioner is that it had obtained a No Objection Certificate ["NOC"] from the Government of Madhya Pradesh on 26.04.2017, for setting up of new Ayurveda college in Bhopal with an intake of 100 students in the undergraduate BAMS course. The petitioner's applications for permission to establish the college in the years 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 were rejected for various reasons. According to the petitioner, for each of the aforesaid three academic years, it had submitted valid consents of affiliation from the Madhya Pradesh Medical Science University, Jabalpur ["the University"].

3. As far as the year 2021-22 is concerned, the UOI extended the last date for submission of applications from the normally prescribed last date of 31.08.2020 to 30.09.2020 in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. The petitioner submitted its application on 29.08.2020.

4. At the stage of submission of the application, the petitioner annexed a certificate obtained from the University dated 28.08.2020, to the effect that the petitioner had applied for valid consent of affiliation for opening of the college for the session 2021-22. It was further certified that an inspection had been conducted by the local inquiry committee and that the consent of affiliation of the petitioner-college would be communicated after the meeting of Executive Council of the University, which was to be held in the month of September 2020.

5. The UOI, however, rejected the petitioner's application vide the impugned communication dated 05.10.2020 for want of a valid consent of affiliation from the University for the academic year 2021-22.

6. Mr. Jasbir Singh Malik, learned counsel for the petitioner, submits that this rejection was unwarranted in the circumstances of the case as the petitioner had, in fact, obtained the consent of affiliation of the University on 25.09.2020, prior to the last date of 30.09.2020. A copy of the consent of affiliation dated 25.09.2020, has also been annexed to the writ petition. Mr. Malik further submits that the aforesaid document was sent directly by the University to the UOI. In support thereof, he has produced an extract from the despatch register maintained by the University administration [Annexure P-15 to the writ petition].

7. Mr. Asheesh Jain, learned counsel for the UOI, however, submits that the consent of affiliation was neither submitted by the petitioner alongwith its application nor received by the UOI in time, i.e. prior to the last date of 30.09.2020. He submits that the aforesaid despatch register and a communication of the University dated 21.10.2020 (Annexure P-14 to the writ petition) disclose that the consent of affiliation was, in fact, despatched by the University only on 25.09.2020, and that too, by ordinary post. Mr. Jain submits that in the absence of the consent of affiliation, the petitioner was ineligible for grant of the permission sought, and in fact, the UOI was not required to forward its application to the Central Council of India