Madras High Court
Freedom Fighter N.Kandasamy ... vs The Registrar on 31 August, 2023
W.P.No.24916 of 2023
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
DATED : 31.08.2023
CORAM
MR.JUSTICE N.SESHASAYEE
W.P.No.24916 of 2023
and WMP.No.24339 of 2023
Freedom Fighter N.Kandasamy Educational Trust,
Rep. by its President & Managing Trustee,
K.Chidambaram, ... Petitioner
Vs.
1. The Registrar,
Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University,
69, Anna Salai, Guindy,
Chennai 600 032.
2. The Pharmacy Council of India,
Rep. by the Secretary cum Registrar,
NBCC Centre, 3rd Floor, Plot No.2,
Community Centre, Maa Anandamai Marg.
Okhla Phase I, New Delhi 110 020.
3. The Government of Tamil Nadu,
Rep. by its Secretary,
Health and Family Welfare Department,
Fort St. George, Chennai 600 009. ... Respondents
PRAYER: The writ petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India,
to issue a writ of certiorarified mandamus calling for the records relating to the
1/7
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W.P.No.24916 of 2023
impugned orders passed by the 1st respondent in Rc.No.Affln.I(4)/45439/2019,
dated 21.07.2023 quash the same and direct the 1st respondent to grant consent
of affiliation to the petitioner College to start additional course namely M.Pharm
(Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Chemistry) and Pharm.D., for the academic
year 2024-25 without insisting Essentiality Certificate from the Government.
For Petitioner : Mr.D.Prabhu Mukunth Arun Kumar
For Respondents
for R1 : Mr.S.Wilson
for R2 : Mr.M.T.Arunan
for R3 : Mr.A.Anandan, G.A.
ORDER
The petitioner is running a College of Pharmacy and now it proposes to add few
more courses such as M.Pharm and Pharm.D Courses. When it applied to the first
respondent, the first respondent vide its communication dated 21.07.2023
required the petitioner to provide essentiality certificate through a G.O. of the
Government and this is under challenge.
2.Mr.S.Wilson, learned counsel appear for first respondent, Mr.M.T.Arunan,
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W.P.No.24916 of 2023
learned counsel for second respondent and Mr.A.Anandan, learned Government
Advocate for third respondent.
3.Learned counsel for the petitioner brought to the notice of this Court an
unreported judgment of this Court in the case of Annai J.K.K.Sampoorani
Ammal Charitable Trust vs. The Registrar, Tamil Nadu Dr.MGR Medical
University and others (W.No.3534 of 2019, dated 16.06.2020) and submitted
that the Bench has categorically held that in case of College of Pharmacy in
respect of M.Pharm and Pharm.D Courses essentiality certificate is not required.
Learned counsel brought to the notice of this Court para 14 to 18 of the said
judgment and that reads as below:
"14. Thus, Pharmacy Act, which is a Special Act, being the
occupied field of Pharmacy, there cannot be any insistence in the
absence of any norms and regulations as to the submission of
Essentiality Certificate.
15. The counter affidavit of the first respondent in the writ
petition as well as in this writ appeal do not throw any light as to
the power of the State Government to insist upon obtaining of
Essentiality Certificate and it appears that the first
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W.P.No.24916 of 2023
respondent/University merely heeded to that though it does not have
any statutory backing.
16. It is also a well settled position of law that if a Statue
prescribes a thing to be done in a particular manner, it can be done
only in that manner and not in any other manner.
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."
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W.P.No.24916 of 2023
4.Learned counsel also submitted that ever since this authority governs the field,
it has been regularly followed in every judgment and it is also brought to the
notice of this Court, few other judgments which has followed the Annai
J.K.K.Sampoorani Ammal Charitable Trust Case.
5.This Court wonders as to why the first respondent mechanically insisted of
essentiality certificate when this Court has already taken a position not just
through one judgment of the Division Bench, but multiple judgments which had
subsequently followed the former. A little care on the part of the first respondent
would have ensured that some of these Colleges could have been allow to run
peacefully, instead of driving them to litigate.
6.An avoidable litigations should be avoided. The first respondent needs to be
responsible to the legal system, and cannot afford to be a breeder of litigation.
After the orders passed by this Court, it ought to have fine tuned its format for
recognising certain courses, which does not require essentiality certificate.
7.This Court necessarily has to follow suit and now directs the first respondent to
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W.P.No.24916 of 2023
consider the application of the petitioner on its own merits and without insisting
of essentiality certificate.
8.The writ petition stands disposed of accordingly. No costs. Consequently,
connected miscellaneous petition is closed.
31.08.2023
pvs
Index : Yes / No
Neutral citation : yes/no
To
1. The Registrar,
Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University,
69, Anna Salai, Guindy,
Chennai 600 032.
2. The Pharmacy Council of India,
Rep. by the Secretary cum Registrar,
NBCC Centre, 3rd Floor, Plot No.2,
Community Centre, Maa Anandamai Marg.
Okhla Phase I, New Delhi 110 020.
3. The Government of Tamil Nadu,
Rep. by its Secretary,
Health and Family Welfare Department,
Fort St. George, Chennai 600 009.
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W.P.No.24916 of 2023
N.SESHASAYEE, J.
pvs
W.P.No.24916 of 2023
31.08.2023
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