- (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. That the petitioner -college premises was inspected on 19/20.6.2013 and inspection report (Annexure P/5) was filled by the visitor of the CCIM which was in two parts, one pertaining to the college and another pertaining to the attached hospital. As per the said report the patients attended in the OPD from January to December, 2012 were 33196 and the report showed no deficiency otherwise regarding teachers, infrastructure, teaching aids etc. The inspection report was never provided to the petitioner -college and was only supplied under the Right to Information Act, 2005. On the basis of the said report, the Executive Committee of the CCIM sent the recommendations to respondent no.1 vide letter dated 30.8.2013 (Annexure P/6) showing number of OPD patients 33196 against the requirement of 36320. Thereafter, a show cause notice was issued on 5.9.2013 (Annexure P/7) and the petitioner was given hearing on 16.9.2013 and an explanation was given that there were two OPDs in the petitioner college and hospital and by mistake the number of patients attended in the college OPD had not been filled in the inspection proforma. The college OPD had been earlier inspected on 22.2.2013 by the respondents and the register of OPD had been signed by the Inspector on the date of inspection. Photocopy of the relevant portion of the register and signatures of the Inspector were appended as Annexure P/8. Accordingly, it was submitted that the college OPD had 3458 patients whereas hospital OPD attendance was 33196 and the total number of patients attended in the year 2012 were 36654 which was more than the requirement of 36320. The calculation was also to be made on the basis of 300 working days and not on the basis of 365 days and number of Sundays and national holidays have to be excluded. Since no order was being passed, the petitioner -college approached this Court by way of Civil Writ Petition No.22820 of 2013 which was disposed of with a direction to respondent no.1 to take decision on the recommendation of the Committee. Another Civil Writ Petition bearing No.22994 of 2013 on the premises that no final orders had been passed and permission may be granted to make admission was filed. During the pendency of the said writ petition, order dated 9.10.2013 was produced whereby the case of the petitioner college for the session 2013 -14 was rejected. The said writ petition was accordingly withdrawn to challenge the said order. Resultantly, the present writ petition came to be filed.;