/11765/2023 of ADARSH TIWARI AND 73 OTHERS Vs STATE OF U.P THRU. PRIN. SECY. DEPTT. OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION LKO. AND 3 OTHERS on 31 December 2023

1. The matter has been placed before this specially constitutedbench during on going winter vacation under an order passed bythe Hon'ble Chief Justice.

2. Heard Sri Ajay Pratap Singh, the learned counsel for thepetitioners and Sri Shailendra Singh, the learned Chief StandingCounsel, Sri Anirudh Singh, the learned Standing Counsel forthe State respondent and Sri D.K. Singh Chauhan, the learnedcounsel for the opposite party no. 3- Joint EntranceExamination Council and Sri Ravi Singh, the learned counselfor opposite party no. 4-Pharmacy Council of India.

3. By means of the instant writ petition, the petitioners, who are74 students seeking admission to D. Pharma Courses, havesought issuance of a writ of mandamus commanding theopposite party nos. 2 & 3, namely, Board of TechnicalEducation, U.P. and Joint Entrance Examination Council, U.P.respectively, to permit them to deposit the balance amount offee by online mode through the portal of the opposite party no.3-Joint Entrance Examination Council, for first year of D.Pharma Course for academic session 2023-2024.

4. Briefly stated, facts pleaded by the petitioners are that theinstitutions, in which they are seeking admission and the nameswhereof are mentioned in para 4 of the writ petition, have beengranted approval by the Pharmacy Council of India. Thepetitioners had appeared in the Joint Entrance Examination foradmission to the diploma course and have been found to beeligible to D. Pharma courses. The counseling schedule waspublished on 16.09.2023, as per which the counseling for D.Pharma courses was scheduled to be held between 25.09.2023and 19.10.2023.

5. The learned counsel for the petitioners has submitted that the issue involved in the present writ petition has been decided bythis court in the judgment dated 27.09.2023 passed by acoordinate bench of this court in a bunch of writ petitions, theleading case being Writ-C No. 8389 of 2023 in Re: H.M.SCollege of Pharmacy, Bulandshar Thru. President HimanshuSharma and Another Vs. State of U.P through Additional ChiefSecretary, Department of Technical Education, Lucknow andthree others, wherein this court has issued a direction to grantaffiliation to the institutions, which have fulfilled the criteriafixed by the Pharmacy Council of India (hereinafter referred as'P.C.I.') and have obtained approval, unless the StateGovernment, on the basis of cogent material, approaches theP.C.I. for revoking the approval in terms of Section 13 of thePharmacy Council of India Act.

6. Thereafter a fresh counseling schedule was published, as perwhich the balance fee was required to be deposited from20.12.2023 till 26.12.2023 and classes are to commence w.e.f.01.01.2024.

7. 25.12.2023 was a holiday due to Christmas.

8. The petitioners claim that some of them could not arrangemoney within the aforesaid period and they have requested forpermission to deposit the balance fee today itself.

9. Sri D.K. Singh Chauhan, the learned counsel for the oppositeparty no. 3 has stated that the date fixed for deposit of balancefee has already expired and the petitioner have not deposited thebalance fee within the prescribed period and they have no rightto seek extension of period for deposit of fee.

10. The learned counsel for the opposite parties have opposedthe writ petition and they have submitted that as per the orderdated 06.09.2023 passed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court inMisc. Application No. 1927 of 2023 in Civil Appeal N. 9048 of2012, Parshwa Nath Charitable Trust v. All India Council forTechnical Education and others, the counseling has to becompleted by 30.12.2023.

11. The learned counsel for the respondents have submitted thatin case the counseling schedule is disturbed at this stage andcounceling is ordered for admissions to the petitioners'institutions, it will be in violations of the aforesaid order passedby the Hon'ble Supreme Court.

12. The learned counsel for the parties have expressed theirconsent for final disposal of the writ petition at this stage.

13. What appears from the material placed before the Court atthis stage is that the petitioners had applied for admission to D.Pharma courses in the academic session 2023-24 through theJoint Entrance Examination which was advertised in March,2023. Some disputes occurred regarding recognition andaffiliation of some institutions regarding which numerous writpetitions were filed in this Court and the same were decided bymeans of a judgment and order dated 27.09.2023 passed inleading writ petition being Writ C No. 8389 of 2023. Therespondents have filed a special appeal against the aforesaidorder bearing Special Appeal No. 504 of 2023, which ispending consideration before a Division Bench of this Court inwhich no inter order has been passed. Thereafter, numerousother writ petitions have been disposed of granting provisionalaffiliation to the institutions and admission of their students.

14. The time provided for deposit of balance fee as per therevised counseling schedule was from 23.12.2023 to26.12.2023. 25.12.2023 was a holiday. the petitioners claim thatthe time provided was short and although they deserve to beadmitted to D. Pharma courses, some of them could not arrangethe amount of balance fee within the short period. Seats arelying vacant, which are to be filled by the petitioners upon theirbeing allowed to deposit the balance fee.

15. In case the petitioners are not granted permission to depositthe balance fee, it would result in denial of education to them,inspite of they having qualified Joint Entrance Examination andtheir right to education will be violated for no fault of theirs.

16. In view of the aforesaid discussion, this Court is ofconsidered view that it would be in the interest of justice toallow the petitioners to deposit the balance fee by the end of31.12.2023 itself.

17. The opposite parties shall make necessary arrangements toenable the petitioners to deposit the balance fee.

18. In view of the aforesaid terms, the writ petition standsdecided finally.

19. It is further provided that in case the seats have been filledup in the institutions concerned in the meantime, the oppositeparty no. 3 shall accommodate the candidates in some otherinstitutions in which the seat is available.

Order Date :- 31.12.2023

Pradeep/-