CHENNAI: Orders dated January 20 this year of the Department of Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, New Delhi, refusing permission to the Goverment Siddha Medical College in Palayamkottai, Tirunvelveli and the Government Ayurveda Medical College in Kottar in Kanyakumari districts, were set aside by the Madras High Court on Monday.Justice V Ramasubramanian, who quashed the orders, directed the AYUSH to issue fresh orders in respect of the two colleges within two weeks keeping in mind that both the colleges had satisfied the requirements of Regulations 5 of the 2006 Rules as it stood today.The judge also directed the principals of the two colleges to continue to conduct classes for the current academic year and hold the examinations. The judge was allowing a batch of two writ petitions from Dr T Arulselvam and B Santhi and 25 others, all affected students of the colleges, to quash the Jan 21 orders and to direct the Central government and the college principals to allow the students to undergo and complete MD (Siddha) and BAMS courses for 2011-12.Senior Central Government Standing Counsel S Haja Mohideen Gisthi submitted that the permission was refused as the two colleges lacked infrastructural and other facilities. They did not fulfil the minimum standard norms required in the notification dated March 18 last year. The teaching faculty and the number of bed occupancy were also much below the requirement.Allowing the petitions, the judge noted that the Government Siddha College, which was in existence from 1924 and whose survival depended upon the Regulations of 2006, was granted permission from 2007-08 to 2010-11. Almost same was the case in resepct of the Ayurveda college in Kottar. However, the March 18, 2011 GO prescribing the minimum standards had not yet been notified. Therefore, the rejection on the basis of those requirements, which were yet to be notified, might not be proper. The permission had been refused on four grounds. However, of the four, two had already been rectified by the colleges. The remaining two were also fulfilled at a later stage. ‘‘Therefore, the impugned orders cannot be sustained both on factual as well as legal basis. The AYUSH has not approached the issues from the proper perspective.
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