Necessity of prior permission for starting a private medical college.

The above writ petition is preferred by the petitioner Trust challenging the order of Medical University (in short as ‘the University’) dated 18. 1991 by which the application of the petitioner seeking affiliation to start the proposed Vinayaka Mission Kirupananda Variyar Medical College at Salem for the acadamic year 1991-92 has been rejected.

2. On an earlier occasion, Govindasamy, J. in W.M.P.No.20146 of 1991 in this writ petition by order dated 210. 1991 directed the first respondent University to grant provisional affiliation subject to the petitioner fulfilling all the requirements in a period of two years and pending further orders. Against the said order a writ appeal was filed in W.ANo.1377 of 1991 and a Division Bench of this Court consisting of the Acting Chief Justice and Somasundaram, J. by order dated 211. 1991 allowed the writ appeal setting aside the order of Govindasamy, J. in the above mentioned W.M.P.No.20146 of 1991, dated 210. 1991 and further directed that the main writ petition itself be listed for hearing. That is how they petition is before me.

3. W.M.P.No.24518 of 1991 has been filed by the State praying to implead itself as a party in the writ petition and by order dated 112. 1991 it has been impleaded as the second respondent in the writ petition.

4. The facts leading to the filing of the writ petition are:

The petitioner is a Charitable Trust which has been imparting education in the fields of medicine and engineering by starting various educational institutions. A pharamacy College, an Engineering College, a Dental College, a polytechnic, a Homeopathy Medical College and Industrial Training Institute and certain other institutions are being run by the petitioner Trust. The petitioner desired to start a private self-financing Medical College at Salem. The petitioner Trust is already running a hospital at Salem Town under the name and style ‘Vinayaka Mission’s Hospital’. Originally the petitioner had submitted an application to the University of Madras and subsequently submitted an application’to the first respondent University in the month of October, 1988. However, the said application submitted by the petitioner was not considered by the first respondent University on the ground that the petitioner should obtain prior approval from the State, that is to say, a no objection certificate from the Government of Tamil Nadu. Aggrieved by this, the petitioner preferred a writ petition in W.P.No.2776 of 1989 praying to quash the order of the first respondent dated 211. 1988 and to direct the first respondent University to discharge its statutory obligations by considering the applications of the petitioner dated 12. 1987 and 210. 1988 for starting the Medical College and granting affiliation to it without insisting on any approval of the State Government or prior approval of the Medical Council of India. By order dated 14. 1989, Venkataswami, J. in the said writ petition directed the first respondent University to consider the application of the petitioner without insisting upon prior permission of the Government and pass orders in accordance with law within eight weeks from the date of receipt of the application to be filed by the petitioner. Consequent upon this order,, the petitioner submitted an application for affiliation with necessary fee to the second respondent in the month of October, 1989 with all relevant particulars. However, the first respondent University once again declined to grant the affiliation for the academic year 1989-90 on the ground that the application was a belated one. The said decision was challenged by the petitioner by way of a writ petition in W.P.No.10453 of 1990. Somasundaram, J. by order dated 2. 1991 allowed the said writ petition setting aside the order of the first respondent University and further directed the first respondent to re-consider the application of the petitioner on merits in terms of the order of Venkataswami, J. dated 14. 1989 in W.P.No.22