Approval to Pharmacy Course of Study is Absolute and Not Subject to Mandatory Annual Renewal.

The Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) issued a Circular dated 14.12.2023 and an "Approval Process Handbook 2024-2025," declaring that even existing pharmacy institutions with prior approvals must mandatorily apply annually for "continuation of approval" and pay Pharmacy Education Regulatory Charges (PERC).

Failure to do so would result in a "No Admission Year".

The respondent-colleges challenged these clauses, arguing that once a "Course of Study" is approved under Section 12 of the Pharmacy Act, 1948, it remains valid unless withdrawn under Section 13.

A Single Judge set aside the disputed clauses as illegal. The PCI filed this intra-court appeal, contending that "Course of Study" refers to individual academic years, granting them power to require annual renewals.

1. Whether Section 12(1) of the Pharmacy Act, 1948, empowers the PCI to require existing approved institutions to seek "continuation of approval" on an annual basis.

2. Whether the terms "Course" and "Course of Study" in Section 12(1) allow for a distinction between the full duration of a degree and its individual years.

3. Whether the PCI can charge PERC for the retention/continuation of already granted approvals.

Section 12 of the Pharmacy Act, 1948, which governs the approval of courses of study and examinations.

Section 13, which provides the exclusive procedure for the withdrawal of approval through a report by the Executive Committee and notice to the authority.

Bachelor of Pharmacy (B.Pharm.) Regulations, 2014, specifically Regulation 3, defining the duration of the course as four academic years.

The principle of statutory interpretation from Nazir Ahmad v. King Emperor, stating that where a statute prescribes a specific method (withdrawal under Section 13), it must be followed in that manner or not at all.

Doctrine of Contemporanea Expositio, noting it does not apply to unambiguous modern statutes.

The court rejected the PCI’s argument that "Course of Study" refers to a single year and "Course" refers to the whole duration. It reasoned that under Regulation 2 of the 2014 Regulations, a certificate is granted only after passing the entire "Course of Study," meaning the term encompasses the full degree program.

The court observed that accepting the PCI’s interpretation would lead to "incongruous consequences," such as a student being deemed to have joined four separate courses for one degree.

The Bench emphasized that the Act provides a "complete code" for oversight; the PCI’s power to monitor is preserved through Section 12(3) (calling for information) and Section 16 (inspections), while any non-compliance must be addressed via the withdrawal mechanism in Section 13.

Mandatory annual "continuation" applications were found to be an indirect and unauthorized method of circumventing the specific "withdrawal" procedure mandated by the legislature.

The court dismissed the appeal and upheld the Single Judge's judgment, holding that the Pharmacy Act, 1948, does not contemplate periodic or annual "continuation of approval" for existing institutions. Consequently, Clauses 10(i), (ii), (iii), and (v) of the Circular dated 14.12.2023, and Clause 5 of the Handbook, were held to be illegal, and the charging of PERC for retaining existing approvals was declared unlawful.