IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT : THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE C.N.RAMACHANDRAN NAIR & THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE K.SURENDRA MOHAN WEDNESDAY, THE 13TH OCTOBER 2010 / 21ST ASWINA 1932 WA.No. 1715 of 2010() -------------------------------- AGAINST THE JUDGEMENT/ORDER IN WPC.23505/2010 DATED 01/10/2010 .................... APPELLANT/PETITIONER -------------------------------------- THE PRINCIPAL, UPASANA COLLEGE OF NURSING, RAVI'S INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCE, PUTHUCHIRA, INDUSTRIAL ESTATE PO, KOLLAM. BY ADV. SRI.GEORGE POONTHOTTAM RESPONDENT/RESPONDENT ------------------------------------------- KERALA UNIVERSITY FOR HEALTH & ALLIED SCIENCES, MULAMKUNNATHUKAVU, MEDICAL COLLEGE PO, TRICHUR DISTRICT, REPRESENTED BY THE REGISTRAR. BY ADV. SRI.T.R.RAVI,SC, KERALA UTY H &A SCIENCE. THIS WRIT APPEAL HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 13/10/2010, ALONG WITH WA NO. 1716 OF 2010 AND WA NO. 1717 OF 2010, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING: rs. C.N.RAMACHANDRAN NAIR & K. SURENDRA MOHAN, JJ. --------------------------------------------------------------- W.A NOS: 1715, 1716 & 1717 OF 2010 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Dated this the 13th October, 2010. JUDGMENT Ramachandran Nair, J. The appeals are filed against judgment of the learned Single Judge declining the direction sought for by the appellants against the respondent-University for granting affiliation to the additional number of 15 B.Sc nursing students in the case of one appellant and affiliation for Post Basic B.Sc nursing degree course with intake of 30 students each in the case of each of the other two appellants. 2. We have heard counsel appearing for the appellants and standing counsel appearing for the respondent-University. Appellant in W.A.1715/2010 started B.Sc Nursing course with an intake of 50 students after obtaining separate approvals from Nursing Council of India and State Nursing and Midwives Council of Kerala and after obtaining affiliation from Kerala University. All these authorities granted enhancement of strength in appellant's college from 50 students to 60 in the year 2008. Again in the year 2009 appellant applied to the Nursing Council of India and to the State Nursing and Midwives Council for enhancement of intake of WPC 1715,1716 & 1710/2010 2 students from 60 to 75. Even though both the Nursing Council of India and the State Nursing Council after conducting inspection and after being satisfied about the facilities available granted approval of intake of further number of 15 students in addtion to 60 already approved, vide Exts.P1 and P2 orders, the respondent-University has declined to entertain application for extending affiliation to 15 more students. The only reason for the University declining to entertain the application for affiliation of 15 more students is the delay in submission of application. It is the conceded position that the respondent-University was formed through an ordinance to take over the affiliation of all the medical educational institutions that is Medical Colleges, Nursing, Para Medical, Dental and similar educational institutions including those in the field of Homoeopathy and Ayurveda, Sidha, Yoga, Unani with effect from 7/12/2009. The University being a new one is yet to frame statutes, rules and regulations for its purposes. However, whatever applications that were pending consideration with the other Universities in Kerala and received from educational institutions now affiliated to respondent-University were transferred to the respondent- University for processing and for taking decisions therein. The details furnished by the University prove that similar applications WPC 1715,1716 & 1710/2010 3 filed by other Nursing Colleges are still under processing and in some cases even inspection is not conducted by the University and in some cases applications are kept pending for the applicants to remit balance application fee. In other words even in the case of those educational institutions who have applied in time for affiliation for the academic year 2010-2011 so far University has not made any serious progress about the processing of applications or for granting affiliation. We have to therefore necessarily keep this in mind while considering appellant's request for direction to the University to entertain belated applications filed by them. Before proceeding to consider this we have to necessarily deal with another aspect which is the relief sought for by the appellant in the form of a direction to the University to grant affiliation to the additional number of students and to the courses in terms of their applications. According to the appellants once appellants are granted approval for intake of additional students to the existing nursing courses and approval for commencement of additional courses by both the Central and State Nursing Councils vide Exts.P1 and P2, affiliation by the University is automatic and this position of law is settled by various decisions of this Court referred to in the impugned judgment of the learned Single Judge. We are unable to WPC 1715,1716 & 1710/2010 4 accept this position because in our view the grant of affiliation is not an empty formality by the University. The University which awards the degree certificates can always ensure that students undergo the proper course study in an eligible institution in accordance with the curriculum prescribed by the University. Certainly the approvals is granted by technical bodies like the Nursing Council, prima facie establish a case for grant of affiliation for the appellants because the nursing council themselves verify the infrastructural and instructional facilities available in the institutions and only on being satisfied about the facilities, they grant approval. 3. So far as the appellant in W.A.1715/2010 is concerned, even according to the University they have all the facilities and eligibility to run the nursing college with 60 students and what is required to be considered by the University is extension of affiliation just for 15 more students. In other words once the affiliation granted by the Kerala University stands, the respondent's role will be only to consider the increased facilities for 15 more students which the Nursing Council both at the Central and State Level found in favour of the appellant. WPC 1715,1716 & 1710/2010 5 4. The next question to be considered is whether delay in submission of application should be treated as fatal for appellants claim for affiliation for the addition of 15 students for the academic year 2010-2011. Admittedly the courses have not commenced and admission process is still going on. We are of the view that the stand of the University that the belated applications filed by the appellant is not maintainable has no basis. Even if application was submitted by the appellant in time it would have been only in the initial stage of processing because those applications filed in time are only being processed by the University. Further, in our view there should be no difficulty for the University to consider an application for affiliation for another 15 more students in the Nursing College which already enjoys approval from all authorities and affiliation from University for the B.Sc nursing course with 60 seats. We therefore allow W.A.1715/2010 by vacating the judgment of the learned Single Judge and with a direction to the respondent-University to entertain the application filed by the appellant, process the same and consider affiliation for 15 more students for the academic year 2010-2011. We make it clear that since both the Central Nursing Council and the State Nursing Council have granted approval after being satisfied about the WPC 1715,1716 & 1710/2010 6 facilities available in the College appellant can provisionally admit 15 more students pending affiliation from the University. In our view University should not decline affiliation for the additional students admitted on provisional basis affecting their career and if at all University finds any inadequacy, a conditional affiliation will be granted asking the appellant to make up for deficiency so that affiliation can be regularised on appellant making up the deficiencies. 5. In the connected writ appeals the question raised is whether respondent was justified in declining to entertain the application for affiliation of post basic B.Sc Nursing courses for intake of 30 students each in each of the two appellants colleges for the academic year 2010-2011. In the cases of these two appellants the Central Nursing Council and the State Nursing Council have granted approvals for the courses. We have already noticed that the only reason for the respondent declining to entertain the application for affiliation is the delay in filing the application. While disposing of W.A.1715/2010 above we noticed that the application filed in time by similar institutions are only in the initial stage of processing by the University and so much benefits granted to the appellant therein should be granted to the WPC 1715,1716 & 1710/2010 7 appellants in these two cases on the same lines. Admittedly both these appellant colleges are affiliated to the University for the B.Sc degree courses run by them as of now. The new courses for which approval is sought also is degree in nursing that too for nurses who have passed the nursing diploma courses. Therefore, admittedly appellant's colleges have substantially big hospitals attached to them and already nursing degree courses are carried on there for the last five years with affiliation from the University. We therefore feel that delay in submission of application should not lead to denial of benefit already granted by the Nursing Council both Central and State which granted approval to the new courses in the appellant's colleges for the academic year 2010-2011. We therefore allow writ appeals 1716 and 1717 of 2010 directing the University to entertain applications already filed and consider the same for affiliation for the new courses. Here again since these colleges are already affiliated nursing colleges, we direct the University not to decline affiliation on technicalities but to grant affiliation with direction to colleges to make up for deficiencies in infra structural or instructional facilities if found lacking. Since the time is up for current academic year and since prima facie eligibility is established through approvals obtained both from Central and Nursing WPC 1715,1716 & 1710/2010 8 Councils, appellants are permitted to admit students on provisional basis without waiting for final affiliation by University which will certainly take a few months time. C.N.RAMACHANDRAN NAIR Judge K. SURENDRA MOHAN Judge jj WPC 1715,1716 & 1710/2010 9