LAKSHMI NARAYAN AYURVEDIC COLLEGE Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) CHALLENGE in the present writ petition is to the order dated 30.8.2013 (Annexure P/6) whereby respondent no.2 -the Central Council of Indian Medicine (hereinafter referred to "the CCIM") decided not to grant conditional permission for Under Graduate course (hereinafter referred to " UG") for the session 2013 -14 due to the shortcomings of total number of OPD patients which were 33196 against the requirement of 36320. Challenge is also laid to the communication of respondent no.1 -Union of India dated 5.9.2013 (Annexure P/7) wherein show cause notice was issued to the petitioner -college for hearing on account of the said shortcomings during the assessment period (i.e.1.1.2012 to 31.12.2012) and consequential order dated 9.10.2013 (Annexure P/13) whereby permission was denied for making admission to the Bachelor of Ayurveda Medicine Surgery ( hereinafter referred to "the BAMS') course for 50 UG seats for the academic year 2013 -14 under Section 13C of the Indian Medicine Central Council (IMCC) Act, 1970 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act").

(2.) THE policy decision dated 11.6.2013 (Annexure P/4) which provides for the calculation of OPD patients from 1.1.2012 to 31.12.2013 has also been challenged apart from praying for the relief that respondent no.3 -University should include the name of the petitioner -college in the second counselling to be conducted and to allocate 50 students to the petitioner -college for admission to BAMS course.

(3.) THE pleaded case of the petitioner is that Ayurvedic Medical College and Hospital is located at Amritsar and is set up by the Durgiana Education Foundation (Regd.) (a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860). Shree Durgiana Education Society is running the petitioner Ayurveda College, a Sanskrit College and Tailoring School ( Vocational) at Amritsar. Permission had been granted for running a Medical College and Hospital by the CCIM and the college started functioning with effect from the year 1976 with intake capacity of 50 students for the BAMS course. The college was affiliated earlier with the Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar till 1999 and thereafter the petitioner -college was affiliated to Baba Farid University of Health Science, Faridkot since 2011. The petitioner -college has requisite infrastructure and facilities and attached 100 bedded hospital. Till 18.7.2012 the college used to be recognized for intake capacity of 50,60 and 100 seats as the case may be and for the purpose of bed occupancy and OPD attendance the previous calendar year was taken into consideration with students/patients ratio required being 1 : 2 in the OPD( i.e. for intake capacity of 50 students : 100 patents per day). The OPD attendance was to be calculated taking into consideration 300 working days in a calendar year. Thus, the total requirement from 1.1.2012 to 31.12.2013 was 30,000 patients in the OPD. New norms were notified on 18.7.2012 which were called the Indian Medicine Central Council (Minimum Standard Requirement of Ayurvedic Colleges and teaching Hospital) Regulations, 2012 (hereinafter referred to as "2012 Regulations"). As per Regulation 7(2) of the 2012 Regulations there was no column for intake capacity of 50 students and the columns were only for 60 students. Thereafter, the 2012 Regulation were amended vide notification dated 22.4.2013 (Annexure P/3) whereby Regulation 7(2) was substituted and change made was that in table 1 for 365 days the word 300 days were substituted. The Government of India had taken a policy decision on 11.6.2013 (Annexure P/4) whereby calculation of OPD patients was split into two parts i.e. from 1.1.2012 to 18.7.2012 to be calculated at the rate of 300 workings days in an year and from 19.7.2012 to 31.12.2012 at the rate of 365 days in a calendar year and the requirement was for intake capacity of 60 seats.