IMPORTANT POINT
A diploma in pharmacy must be approved by the Pharmacy Council of India for registration as a pharmacist under the Pharmacy Act, 1948.

JUDGMENT :

ANISH KUMAR GUPTA, J.

1. Since the controversy involved in the above petitions is identical, therefore, with the consent of learned counsels for the parties, all the three petitions are heard together and decided by this common order.

2. Heard Sri Ved Prakash Shukla, learned counsel for the petitioners, Sri Rajiv Gupta, learned Additional Chief Standing Counsel for respondent Nos. 1 and 2 and Sri Vaibhav Tripathi, learned Central Government Standing Counsel for respondent No. 3 and Sri Madan Mohan, learned counsel for respondent No. 4 in the above petitions.

3. These petitions have been filed by the petitioners who have obtained the Diploma in pharmacy from Singhania University, Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan, praying for a direction to the Pharmacy Council of Uttar Pradesh to enter the name of the petitioners in the First Register maintained by them as a pharmacist to practice in the State of U.P. under Section 31 of the Pharmacy Act, 1948 and further a direction to allow the petitioners to practice as a pharmacist after completing all the formalities under the Pharmacy Act, 1948 and the Pharmacy Practice Regulations, 2015.

4. The brief facts of the case, according to the petitioners, are that after passing intermediate (Class XIIth) they took admission in “two years' Diploma course in Pharmacy” from Singhania University, which is recognized under Section 2 (f) of the University Grants Commission Act 1956 (hereinafter referred to as the Act, 1956). According to the petitioners they completed their course and diploma in Pharmacy was awarded to them by the aforesaid University. It has been stated in Paragraph 10 of the Writ Petition No. 40161 of 2022 that the petitioners undertook training of 500 hrs in reputed hospitals as per requirement of the education regulation framed under Section 10 of the Pharmacy Act, 1948 (hereinafter referred to as the Act, 1948). Thereafter, in paragraph Nos. 11, 13, 14, 15 of the Writ petition No. 40161 of 2022 it has been stated by the petitioners that after completing all the formalities they approached the respondent No. 4 for their registration in accordance with Section 31 read with Section 10 of the Act, 1948 to enter their name in the register but the respondent No. 4 declined the request of the petitioners for the reason that the aforesaid Singhania University has not been added on the website maintained by the respondent No. 3 under Section 12 of the Act, 1948 and the Course/Diploma in Pharmacy, conducted by the Singhania University is not recognized by the Pharmacy Council of India. Aggrieved, the petitioners filed the present writ petitions praying for the relief aforestated.

SUBMISSION

5. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits as under:

(i) The judgment relied by the respondent No. 4, in paragraph 29 of the counter-affidavit in Writ Petition No. 40161 of 2022, has no application on facts of the present case inasmuch as the controversy in that case was between the AICTE and the respondent No. 3 and not between the respondent No. 4 and the diploma holders.

(ii) Singhania University is a University established under law and has been recognised under Section 2 (f) of the Act, 1956. Therefore, the respondent Nos. 3 and 4 cannot deny registration of the petitioners under the Act, 1948 on the basis of Diploma granted by the said University.

(iii) A University does not require any recognition for a particular course from the Pharmacy Council of India. Therefore, even if the Singhania University has not obtained recognition for pharmacy course from the respondent No. 2, still registration cannot be denied inasmuch as a University does not require any recognition for the pharmacy course under Section 12 of the Act, 1948 from the Pharmacy Council of India. Reliance is placed upon the judgment in case of The Pharmacy Council of India v. Dr. S.K. Toshniwal Educational Trust Vidharbha Institute of Pharmacy and others, (2020) SCC Online SC 296 and judgment of Hon'ble Supreme Court in Bharatidassan Univer