In Brief
A university sought to overturn a high court's direction requiring it to grant a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for a pharmacy college to start a D.Pharma course in Hyderabad. The state government had imposed a moratorium on new pharmacy courses in 2018-19 due to existing institutional saturation, vacant seats, and teacher shortages. The Supreme Court held that state governments and universities can frame policies refusing NOC based on local educational needs and existing institutional capacity. The state's decision was based on objective data showing 30 pharmacy colleges in Hyderabad with 173 vacant seats despite capacity reductions. The Court affirmed that Section 20 of the Telangana Education Act is not repugnant to the AICTE Act, and states retain concurrent power to assess local educational requirements. The appeal was allowed and the high court's judgment quashed.
The lawyer headnote and full judgment text are available to registered users.