Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, June 28: High Court has held the inspection and consequent withdrawal of permission to run the Ayurveda and Research College by the Ministry of Ayush Government of India as illegal and invalid and directed the petitioner-Institute be reckoned as it had not suffered withdrawal of permission.
Justice Rahul Bharti has allowed the plea of petitioner-Institute of Ayurveda and Research challenging the action of Ministry of Ayush Government of India whereby inspection of the institute was carried out by the Ministry and subsequently its registration was withdrawn in view of lacking facilities as envisaged under the rules and regulations has been set aside.
Court has held that it is the Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM) and not Ministry of Ayush which has the authority to conduct the inspection of such kind of institutions and take decision as to whether these institutes are meeting the terms and conditions as laid down in the rules governing the field.
“…The petitioner-institute to be reckoned as if it had not suffered withdrawal of permission and accordingly all the effects and benefits to be held restored to the petitioner-institute”, Justice Bharti directed.
Court after hearing threadbare discussions on the issue of inspection and withdrawal of such kind of institutions said there is no scope for an escape in holding that the Ministry of Ayush Government of India was bereft of authority and power to act upon such a non-statutory inspection to effect midway withdrawal of the permission of the aggrieved petitioner-institute which was operative till 2020.
“Since this court is finding inherent lack of authority at the end of the Ministry of Ayush to get an inspection of a medical college conducted at its own discretion and direction and then appropriate said inspection outcome of power to recall permission granted in favour of a given medical college, so this court is not getting into examination of the loopholes alleged against the very said manner and mode of inspection and proceedings following it at the end of the respondent Ministry of Ayush”, Justice Bharti recorded.
Court said had the inspection exercise been done by the CCIM against the petitioner-institute resulting in an adverse report, then the same would have been with the statutory backing leaving no scope for the petitioner-institute to wriggle out from the findings of the said statutory inspection and surely it would not have been available at the end of the petitioner-institute to question the validity of the statutory inspection so carried out by the CCIM.
“The position in the present case is diametrically opposed. A non-statutory inspection purportedly conducted by the Ministry of Ayush, could not afford in its favour a position of legality to order withdrawal of permission in favour of the petitioner –institute”, reads the judgment.
The Court has turned down the arguments of counsel for the Ministry of Ayush that Central Government can seek an inspection of a medical college (Ayurvedic) at its own discretion for which it has not to rely upon a prior approval of the CCIM.
Court added that an inspection so desired or solicited by the Ministry of Ayush is to be then mandatory for the CCIM to carry out statutory inspection by its inspection team whether or not the CCIM carried out any inspection as per its own schedule and authority.
Court has further held that even if, for any reason whatsoever the Ministry of Ayush intended to have inspection of medical colleges (Ayurvedic) at its own for its own satisfaction with regard to the existing status of set up and facilities of the medical colleges (Ayurvedic), even then any such inspection report coming before it ought to have been forwarded to CCIM for the purpose of enabling the CCIM to order a statutory inspection of any particularly identified medical college (Ayurvedic) including that of the petitioner using the so-called inspection of the Ministry of AYUSH’s constituted team as a basis for having the statutory inspection.
“Thus, as against the statutory power of inspection vested in the CCIM, the Ministry of AYUSH stepped in with a non-statutory character to carry out the inspection of the so called some of the colleges without mentioning the source of its authority to get the inspection done”, Court recorded.
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