Page No.# 1/6 GAHC010024342023 2026:GAU-AS:6953-DB THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH) Case No. : PIL/16/2023 RUPAM BORBORAH S/O INDRESWAR BORBORAH, R/O VILL-NAM GORUMORA GAON, P.S.-PULIBOR, P.O.-GORUMARA, DIST-JORHAT, ASSAM, PIN-785703 VERSUS THE PHARMACY COUNCIL OF INDIA AND 11 ORS REPRESENTED BY ITS REGISTRAR CUM SECRETARY, NBCC CENTER, 3RD FLOOR, PLOT NO. 2, COMMUNITY CENTER, MAA ANANDAMAI OKHLA PHASE I, NEW DELHI-110020 2:ASSAM PHARMACY COUNCIL REPRESENTED BY ITS REGISTRAR CUM SECRETARY WARD NO. 44 HENGRABARI ROAD DISPUR GUWAHATI ASSAM PIN-781006 3:THE STATE OF ASSAM REPRESENTED BY THE COMMISSIONER AND SECRETARY TO THE GOVT. OF ASSAM, HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENT ASSAM DISPUR GUWAHATI-06 4:THE DIRECTOR OF MEDICAL EDUCATION ASSAM SIXMILE Page No.# 2/6 KHANAPARA GUWAHATI-781022 5:SRIMANTA SANKARDEV UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH AND SCIENCE REPRESENTED BY ITS REGISTRAR NARKASUR HILL TOP BHANGAGARH GUWAHATI-781032 6:ASSAM SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY REPRESENTED BY ITS REGISTRAR TETELIA ROAD NEAR ASSAM ENGINEERING COLLEGE JALUKBARI GUWAHATI ASSAM PIN-781013 7:J.B. INSTITUTE OF PHARMACY REPRESENTED BY ITS PRINCIPAL SUNCITY LANE AMBARI SATGAON GUWAHATI ASSAM PIN-781171 8:NEF COLLEGE OF PHARMACEUTICAL EDUCATION AND RESEARCH REPRESENTED BY ITS PRINCIPAL JAIL ROAD KOLONG PAR NAGAON ASSAM PIN-782001 9:ALLAMA TR COLLEGE OF PHARMACY REPRESENTED BY ITS PRINCIPAL TA ALEM CITY HASANPUR SRI GOURI BADARPUR KARIMGANJ ASSAM PIN-788806 10:NEPEDS COLLEGE OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCE REPRESENTED BY ITS PRINCIPAL CID BUS STOP BASISTHA BELTOLA GUWAHATI ASSAM PIN-781028 Page No.# 3/6 11:REGIONAL COLLEGE OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCE REPRESENTED BY ITS PRINCIPAL BYELANE NO. 2 PATARKUCHI LANE SONAPUR GUWAHATI PIN-782402 12:GIRIJANANDA CHOWDHURY INSTITUTE OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCE REPRESENTED BY ITS PRINCIPAL TEZPUR NEAR DEKARGAON RAILWAY STATION DEKARGAON SONITPUR ASSAM PIN-784501 For the petitioner : Mr. P. Mahanta, Advocate For the respondents : Mr. R.K.D. Choudhury, D.S.G.I. for Respondent No.1 Mr. B. Gogoi, Addl. A.G., Assam for Respondent Nos.3, 5 & 6 Mr. S. Alom, Advocate for Respondent No.7 Mr. M. Khan, Advocate for Respondent No.8 Mr. M.J. Quadir, Advocate for Respondent No.9 Mr. A. Biswas, Advocate for Respondent No.10 Mr. T.J. Mahanta, Sr. Advocate Ms. P. Bhattacharyya, Advocate For respondent No.11 Mr. S. Chakraborty, Advocate for Respondent No.12 Page No.# 4/6 – B E F O R E – HON’BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. ASHUTOSH KUMAR HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE ARUN DEV CHOUDHURY 20-05-2026 (Ashutosh Kumar, C.J.) We have heard Mr. P. Mahanta, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr. B. Gogoi, learned Additional Advocate General, Assam for the respondent Nos.3, 5 and 6. 2. This public interest litigation flags a very serious issue that there are several private Pharmacy Institutions in Assam which are illegally admitting students in the B. Pharma course without obtaining the mandatory “No Objection Certificate”, or approval from the State Government before starting the admission. The further contention of the petitioner is that those institutions (respondent Nos.7 to 12) were granted only temporary affiliation for a year by two Universities acting as examining authorities, namely, Srimanta Sankardev University of Health Sciences and Assam Science and Technology University (respondent Nos.5 and 6, respectively). 3. Mr. B. Gogoi, learned Additional Advocate General submits that no affiliation has been given to the respondent No.9, which fact does not stand disputed. 4. The contention of the petitioner initially was that such admissions violated the specific Rules of Pharmacy Council of India and the Bachelor of Pharmacy (B. Pharm) Course Regulations, 2014, requiring prior approval from the Pharmacy Council of India for starting B. Pharma Page No.# 5/6 course and taking admission of students for such course. 5. A concern has been raised that the students, who normally would pay heavy fee without being aware of the irregularities in running the college, or the course which ultimately may lead to derecognition of such colleges, may be left absolutely high and dry in the middle of their career. 6. The issue no doubt is a serious one, but it appears from the records of the case that most of the colleges, against which complaint has been made, have got their affiliation and prior approval. 7. The grievance of the petitioner is that only when this PIL was filed, all the irregularities were hurriedly rectified, which was a post-haste decision and, to a large extent, such rectification is not permissible under the law. 8. This submission is, in our view, not based in public interest at all. There is no gainsaying that the institutions ought not to take admission without prior statutory approval, but when the defects have been remedied, it would not be in public interest to make those students face the brunt of derecognition of such colleges. 9. A specific statement made on behalf of the Universities (respondent Nos.5 and 6), referred to above, and the Pharmacy Council of India is that as on date none of the Institutions named in the petition except respondent No.9, are running their courses without approval. 10. This is good enough for us to close this petition but with a direction and caution that the Universities, which are the examining bodies, ought to be careful in continuing with such affiliation of such colleges which do Page No.# 6/6 not have the prior approval. 11. It is also expected of the Pharmacy Council of India to properly monitor the running of such courses by private institutions. This petition is thus disposed off. JUDGE CHIEF JUSTICE Comparing Assistant