The State Government lacks the authority to require an essentiality certificate for the approval of pharmacy course affiliations, as established by prior court rulings.

ORDER :

Challenging the impugned order dated 25.11.2024 requiring the petitioner to produce the essentiality certificate for considering the application for approval of affiliation of M.Pharm., Pharm.D and Pharm.D(PB) courses for the academic year 2025-26 this writ petition is filed.

2. By consent of both parties, this Writ Petition is taken up for final disposal at the stage of admission itself.

3. Heard the learned counsel on both sides and carefully perused the entire materials available on record.

4. The learned counsel appearing for the petitioner submitted that the State Government has no locus standi to seek for the essentiality certificate and the matter has already been well covered by the order of this Court in WP.No. 19594 of 2023 dated 30.06.2023 and the relevant portion is extracted hereunder:-

“7. The Division Bench of this Court in the case in W.A.No.3534 of 2019 (Annai J.K.K.Sampoorani Ammal Charitable Trust, rep.by its Management Trustee vs. the Registrar, Tamil Nadu Dr.M.G.R.Medical University, Chennai), held as follows:

"17. The State Government lacks power to insist upon obtaining of Essentiality Certificate for the purpose of production before the first respondent/University for processing the Consent of Affiliation. Though heavy reliance has been placed upon the letter of the Principal Secretary to Government of Tamil Nadu, Department of Health and Family Welfare dated 31.08.2018 in Letter No. 38630/PME2/2016-4, referred to supra, the said letter has no application to the case on hand for the reason that the said instructions came to be issued in the light of stand alone courses conducted by the first respondent/University, which do not have any affiliation with any of the Statutory Councils, namely MCI/DCI/PCI. Therefore, it is held that it is not obligatory on the part of the appellant to obtain Essentiality Certificate from the State Government and produce before the first respondent / University for processing the Consent of Affiliation.

18. In the light of the reasons assigned above, the impugned order dismissing the writ petition warrants interference.

19. In the result, this Writ Appeal is allowed and the order dated 14.10.2019 made in W.P.No. 25473 of 2019 is set aside and as a consequence, the impugned letter of the first respondent / University dated 05.08.2019, signed on 07.08.2019, is quashed. No costs. Consequently, connected miscellaneous petition is closed.

The aforesaid view has been reiterated by the learned Single Judge in the case in W.P.No.14834 of 2020, dated 10.11.2020 (PGP Educational and Welfare Society, rep.by its Secretary Mr.K.Kandasamy Vs. The Registrar, Tamil Nadu Dr.M.G.R.Medical University, Chennai), holding as follows:

"22. In view of the above discussion, this Court is of the considered view that the Scheme framed under the Regulations by the Pharmacy Council of India does not contemplate any permission from the State Government after approval is granted by the Pharmacy Council of India for increase in intake either in the B.Pharm or M. Pharm Course in an existing Institution and the University must necessarily act upon the approval and grant provisional affiliation to the Institution. This is the manner in which the Pharmacy Council of India has understood the Scheme framed under the Regulations and it is uniformly applied in all the States and therefore the Government of Tamil Nadu cannot give a different interpretation and meaning than the one that is given by the Pharmacy Council of India.

23. In the result, the Impugned Letter issued by the 1st Respondent