The Allahabad High Court has invalidated a decision made by the Uttar Pradesh Board of Technical Education, wherein they revoked the no objection certificates issued to 301 technical education colleges for offering the D Pharma course during the academic session of 2022-23. The ruling was delivered by Justice Om Prakash Shukla of the Lucknow bench in response to petitions filed by these colleges, challenging the board’s decision made in May. The state government argued that the board’s decision was rooted in a report from a three-member committee tasked with verifying the documents submitted by the pharmacy colleges, according to an official statement.
The court emphasised that the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) holds the exclusive statutory authority to make determinations based on reports from state governments or boards, and neither the state government nor the board possesses the authority to rescind previously granted NOCs, as this power is vested solely with the PCI, as per the statement.
Furthermore, the bench clarified that any orders issued in compliance with the May 18, 2023 directive would also be considered null and void. It granted the state government and the Board of Technical Education (BTE) the liberty to pursue appropriate actions on the matter, should they choose to do so, in accordance with the established legal procedures, it added.
The court expressed its expectation that the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) would promptly address any issues referred to it by either the state government or the board, ensuring a fair hearing for the affected parties. The petitioner pharmacy colleges had argued that they were initially granted a no objection certificate (NOC) to offer the D Pharma course in their institutions, but without any prior opportunity for a hearing, the NOC was abruptly revoked, as per the statement.
“Given that neither the state nor the board had requested any show cause notice or provided the petitioner colleges with an opportunity to present their side, and in light of the mechanical and unexplained cancellation of the NOC, the court ruled that the challenged order could not be legally upheld,” stated the high court.
Acting on these reports, the state government issued directions to the BTE, which in turn cancelled the NOCs granted to the colleges.
With inputs from PTI.
