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Judgment
The petitioner- Institution has filed this petition against the order dated 1st September, 2011 (Annexure P/1). The petitioner submitted an application in regard to grant of recognition to conduct Pharm. D course. Along with the application, the petitioner- Institution submitted Tie Up Memorandum of Understanding [ in short '' MoU''] with two different hospitals having 150 beds each. Vide impugned order, the respondent-Pharmacy Council of India directed the petitioner- Institution to submit MoU with 300 bedded hospital in accordance with Pharm. D Regulations, 2008 for consideration of continuation of admission for Pharm. D Course. As per the petitioner, the aforesaid condition is arbitrary and illegal.
The Parliament has passed Pharmacy Act, 1948 to make better provisions for the regulation of the profession and practice of Pharmacy throughout the country. u/s 10 of the Pharmacy Act, regulations have been made, named as "Pharm. D. Regulations, 2008" [in short ''Regulation, 2008'']. The Regulations, 2008 prescribe qualifications as under:-
(a) Pharm. D qualification as a registrable qualification as a pharmacist under the Pharmacy Act.
(b) minimum qualification for admission to Pharm. D. course, duration of the course, No. of hours to be covered for theory and practical, mode of examinations, eligibility for appearing in the examinations, minimum pass marks for passing examinations, etc.
(c) internship or residency training where the student pharmacist is given training in actual practice of pharmacy & health care.
(d) practical training i. e. hospital posting, project work, its objectives, methodology etc.
(e) detailed syllabus of Pharm. D.
(f) conditions to be fulfilled by the institutions for approval of course of study u/s 12 of the Act. (Ref: Appendix B). These conditions include details of infrastructural facilities which was institution seeking approval of the " course of study" has to create i.e. accommodation area, qualification, experience and No. of teaching staff, staff-student ratio, non teaching staff, equipments, museum, library etc.
(g) Conditions to be fulfilled by the examining authority conducting examinations of the students.
As per Appendix-B of the Regulations, 2008, the Institution have 300 bedded hospital attached to it or it has tied up MoU with a 300 bedded hospital with the following specifications:-
Pharm. D. and Pharm. D (Post Baccalaureate) programmes shall be conducted only in those institutions which-
a) are approved by the Pharmacy Council of India for B. Pharm course as provided u/s 12 of the Pharmacy Act, 1948;
b) have 300 bedded hospital attached to it.
(i) Hospital Details
Institution with their own hospital of minimum 300 beds.
Teaching hospital recognized by the Medical Council of India or University, or a Government hospital not below the level of district headquarter hospital with 300 beds with clearly defined Memorandum of Understanding including housing pharmacy practice department with minimum carpet area of 30 square feet per student along with consent to provide th professional manpower to support the programme.
Corporate type hospital with minimum 300 beds with clearly defined Memorandum of Understanding including housing pharmacy practice department with minimum carpet area of 30 square feet per student along with consent to provide the professional manpower to support the programme.
Number of institutions which can be attached to one hospital shall be restricted by the student pharmacist to bed ration of 1:10."
These are the statutory qualifications in accordance with the Regulation 9 of Regulations, 2008 which are as under:-
Approval of the authority conducting the course of stud. - (1) No person, institution, society or university shall start and conduct Pharm. D or Pharm. D ( Post Baccalaureate) programme without the prior approval of the Pharmacy Council of India.
(2) Any person or pharmacy college for the purpose of obtaining permission under sub-section (1) of Section 12 of the Pharmacy Act, shall submit a scheme as prescribed by the Pharmacy Council of India.
(3) The scheme referred to in sub-regulation (2) above, shall be in such form and contain such particulars and be preferred in such manner and be accompanied with such fee as may be prescribed:
Provided that the Pharmacy Council of India shall not approve any institution under these regulations unless it provides adequate arrangements for teaching in regard to building, accommodation, labs, equipments, teaching staff, non-teaching staff, etc., as specified in Appendix-B of these regulations.
It is an admitted fact that the petitioner- Institution has no MoU or tie up with 300 bedded hospital in accordance with Appendix B under Regulation 9 of Regulations, 2008 because these are the statutory regulations. Hence, this Court cannot relax the conditions which are statutory in nature. If there is any grievance to the petitioner, the petitioner can challenge the vires of Regulations, 2008. The question of vires cannot be decided by this Court because this Court has no jurisdiction for the aforesaid purpose. Consequently, we do not find any merit in this petition, it is hereby dismissed. No order as to costs.