Central Govt Does Not Have Power to Appoint Medical Inspector: Bombay HC Sets Aside Govt Order Revoking Permission For BAMS Course
The high court quashed and set aside the order of the central government to revoke permission for BAMS course while noting that the said order was bad in law.
A division bench of the Bombay High Court at Nagpur has recently set aside an order of the government revoking the permission granted to run a course of Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery while noting that the Central Government does not power to appoint medical inspectors.
The high court was hearing a plea wherein the Central Government had revoked the permission granted to the petitioner to run a course on Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery for the year 2018-2019 based upon the report of the Inspectors appointed by the Central Government.
The High Court said that under Sections 19 and 20 of the Indian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970 it is only the Central Council and not the Central Government that shall appoint Medical Inspectors to inspect any Medical College, Hospital, or other Institution or which shall appoint such number of Visitors as it may deem requisite for inspection.
Under Section 21 of the 1970 Act, the Central Council has the power to take necessary action based on the report submitted by the inspectors.
The division bench said that since no inspectors were appointed by the council and therefore the order would not sustain in the eyes of law. The order read,
“In the instant case, no Inspectors were appointed by the Central Council nor any Visitors were appointed by the Central Council and as such there was no report submitted by either the Inspectors or either the Visitors to enable the Central Council to exercise its power under Section 21 of the Act of 1970. As such, the impugned order cannot be sustained in the eye of the law.”
The high court relied on the Apex Court’s decision in Temple of Hahnemann Homoeopathic Medical College And Hospital Vs. Union of India and Others wherein it was held that no power of withdrawal of recognition or permission can be exercised based upon a report submitted by the Inspectors appointed by the Central Government.
Thereafter, the high court quashed and set aside the order of the Central Government while noting that the order was bad in law and deserved to be quashed and set aside.
Case Title: Shikshan Prakash Mandal vs UOI & Ors.