IMPORTANT POINT
The Court established that existing pharmacy colleges are not subject to a moratorium on new institutions, allowing them to obtain necessary approvals if they meet regulatory requirements.

JUDGMENT :

Lanusungkum Jamir, J.

The petitioner No.1, namely, Education Research and Development Foundation is a registered Trust having its office at Guwahati and also operating Allama TR College of Pharmacy, Badarpur, in the district of Karimganj. The petitioner No.2 is the founder Trustee and is representing the petitioner No.1 in the present writ petition.

2. Under the Rules and Regulations to establish a Pharmacy College, amongst others, there is a requirement of issuance of a No Objection Certificate (in short, NOC) to be obtained from the Government of Assam, Medical Education and Research Department. The petitioners’ College was earlier granted NOC by a Communication, dated 03.06.2022, issued by the Commissioner and Secretary to the Government of Assam, Medical Education and Research Department for starting of Degree/Diploma in Pharmacy Course for the Session 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 subject to the condition that no further admission for the Session 2022-2023 and thereafter shall be made by the Institute without further Government permission. One of the conditions of the NOC was that the Institute shall fulfill all the requirements with regard to physical infrastructure, clinical facility and teaching facility as laid down by the Government/Srimanta Sankardeva University of Health Sciences (SSUHS) within a period of one year from the date of issuance of the NOC.

3. The petitioners’ College was not granted NOC for the Session 2022-2023 for admission in the B. Pharm and D. Pharm courses and therefore, being aggrieved they approached this Court by filing WP(C) No.7132/2022. This Court, on 22.06.2023, directed the Government in the Health Department to consider issuing of NOC to the petitioners’ College, however, subject to the condition that the petitioners’ College cooperates by giving information for any requirements made by the authorities in the Health Department, by maintaining parity with other institutions that have been granted NOC for the period 2022-2023 onwards. Thereafter, the Commissioner and Secretary to the Government of Assam, Medical Education and Research Department filed an affidavit on 03.08.2023 stating that there are certain deficiencies mentioned in the inspection report in respect of the petitioners’ College and, therefore, the Government is not in a position to issue NOC to the petitioners’ Institution for the year 2022-2023 onwards at this stage. However, this Court came to the finding that the decision of the Government not to issue NOC was based on an inspection report, dated 21.02.2022, and, therefore, the authorities in the Health Department were directed to have a fresh inspection of the petitioners’ College within a period of two weeks and, thereafter, take a fresh decision for issuance of NOC to the petitioners’ Institution.

4. Consequently, a further inspection was made and the Inspection Report, dated 12.08.2023, was placed before this Court wherein at Clause 3 therein, it was provided that the infrastructure is inadequate with respect to rooms and laboratories but few rooms were found to be smaller in dimensions. Further, it was stated that the laboratories, which is a necessary infrastructure to operate a Pharmacy College of the petitioner, is found to be smaller in dimensions than what is required and at Clause 13 therein, it was also provided that apart from the infrastructural facilities, the Institute is having some more rooms in the same building in 4th and 5th floor, which can be utilized in future. Accordingly, the said writ petition was disposed of by order, dated 07.09.2023, with the following directions:-

“6. In view of the above, the authorities in the petitioner to approach the Commissioner and Secretary to the Government of Assam in the Medical Education and Research Department to have a precise information as to what is required to be done and to what extent the dimensions of the laboratories are to be extended and as extra space is already available, necessary modification be d