Last Updated on November 18, 2020 by The Health Master
AURANGABAD: The Aurangabad bench of Bombay High Court has turned down the plea of five pharmacy colleges that had increased their admission intake capacity from 60 to 120, and even 180 in some cases, saying that the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) is the only authority to finalize the intake capacity of the institutions.
The colleges imparting diploma in pharmacy courses had moved the HC requesting to uphold the increase in intake capacity granted by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).
The HC bench comprising Justices SV Gangapurwala and Shrikant Kulkarni cited the Supreme Court judgment while giving out the ruling. It observed: “Since registration of petitioner institutions, the PCI had never granted approval beyond 60 students. The petitioners cannot claim vested right to such extension of approval beyond 60 students.”
Sayali Charitable Trust’s College of Pharmacy, Nagaon Education Society’s Gangamai Institute of Pharmacy, Shiva Trust Pratibhatai Pawar College of Pharmacy, Shiva Trust’s Rajeshbhaiyya Tope College of Pharmacy and The Shirpur Education Society’s R. C. Patel Institute of Pharmacy, had earlier this year moved the HC against the PCI.
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The petitioner colleges submitted before the HC that after the initial intake capacity of 60 seats granted by PCI, the AICTE in the year 2013-14 and in the following years granted them increased intake capacity, ranging from 120 to 180 seats.
These institutions cited the example of Kamala Nehru Polytechnic (Pharmacy), Aurangabad, which has an intake capacity of 120 students.
Representing the PCI, special counsel Zoheb Hossain and the then assistant solicitor general Sanjeev Deshpande contested that the petitioner institutions were neither granted permission for intake of 120 students nor beyond 60 students.
The duo even contested that Kamala Nehru Polytechnic college was granted intake of 120 students as per resolution passed in the 47th meeting held on April 7, 1988 and after this year the PCI has not granted permission to any institute with intake beyond 60 students.
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The PCI also submitted before the high court that its policy to restrict the intake capacity to 60 students has been reiterated time and again through its multiple circulars.
The court, while disposing of the petitions, observed: “The current approved output per year is approximately 1.80 D Pharma and 2 lakh B.Pharmas from the already approved institutions. The generation of excessive workforce would lead to unemployment of qualified workforce. As such the decision has been consciously taken by the Central Council.”
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