The court highlighted the importance of timely consideration of registration applications for clinical establishments under the relevant legal provisions.

ORDER :

Javed Iqbal Wani, J.

1. In this petition, the petitioners herein implore for the following reliefs:-

"Writ of Mandamus : Directing and commanding the official respondents to grant the petitioners permanent registration for running diagnostic laboratories.

Writ of Mandamus : Directing and commanding the official respondents to grant the petitioners the certificate of provisional registration."

2. The facts those emerge from the petition on the basis of which the aforesaid reliefs are being sought by the petitioners are that they have been running Diagnostic Laboratories in Bhaderwah after complying with all the formalities required for running a diagnostic laboratory and that the petitioners applied for the first time for registration of their respective laboratories which registration was granted to them by respondents No. 3 for an initial period of one year and extended thereafter for a further period of three years and that the said registration, however, was not renewed by the respondent No. 3, despite fulfillment of all requisites by the petitioners.

3. According to the petitioners, they were asked by respondents 2 and 3 to apply afresh for the new registration as the old registration cannot be renewed, whereupon the petitioners state to have applied for fresh registration of their diagnostic laboratories before respondent No. 2, after fulfilling all requisites and duly acknowledged by the office of respondent No. 2 vide order dated 12.04.2019, whereby respondent No. 3- Chief Medical Officer, Doda was directed to conduct inspection of the laboratories which inspection was delayed on one pretest to the other and in the process fresh registration was not granted.

4. According to the petitioners their diagnostic laboratories were sealed by the Tehsildar Executive Magistrate 1st Class, Bhadarwah vide order dated 15.06.2020, on the instructions of respondent No. 3 and thereafter the petitioners approached the respondents for processing their pending cases for registration which requests, however, were not entertained by respondent No. 3, whereupon the petitioners approached respondent No. 2 by filing a representation dated 01.07.2020, seeking inspection of their laboratories for the approval of fresh registration and till such time the petitioners be allowed to continue to operate their laboratories. It is being stated in the petition by the petitioners that after filing of the said representation before respondent No. 3, petitioners were informed that new rules have come into being and that the petitioners, as such, are required to apply afresh for registration, whereupon the petitioners in terms of Jammu and Kashmir Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Rules, 2020 (for brevity 'the Clinical Establishment Rules 2020') applied afresh for registration of their laboratories and that in terms of Section 24, the petitioners were required to send through registered post an application in prescribed format for grant of registration, which was done by the petitioners, besides having applied for provisional registration in terms of Section 14 of the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010 (for brevity 'the Clinical Establishments Act, 2010').

5. According to the petitioners, the respondent No. 3 for the purposes of grant of provisional registration under Section 14 (supra) did not accord registration in favour of the petitioners and no steps thereof have been taken by the authorities to do the needful.

6. The short grievance of the petitioners in the instant writ petition thus, is that despite having applied for registration (both provisional and permanent) of their diagnostic laboratories, respondents have failed to accord consideration to their respective cases compelling them to maintain the instant petition.

7. Per contra, the respondents in their objections controvert and resist the contentions raised by the learned counsel for the petitioners and while opposing the writ petition of the pet