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7.10. A writ petition arising from similar circumstances,4 and impugning prior information bulletin published by NBE was allowed in favour of the Petitioners therein, holding them eligible for applying for DNB examination.

On behalf of CPS Mumbai

8. Mr. Satvik Varma, Senior Counsel for CPS Mumbai, submits that the decision taken vide impugned letter must not be applied retrospectively hampering the interests and careers of doctors who had enrolled prior thereto. Retrospective application of the impugned letter is highly arbitrary Suresh Pal and Ors. v. State of Haryana and Ors., (1987) 2 SCC 445 and Anita Kishanrao Videkar v. Union of India, W.P. No. 5343/2018 dated 24th February, 2021.

On behalf of NMC

10. Mr. T. Singhdev, counsel for NMC, makes the following averments:

10.1. After much deliberations and considering the quality and standard of training provided by CPS Mumbai -- NMC recommended MoHFW to de-recognise FCPS courses. CPS Mumbai is only a registered society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 and does not qualify as a recognised university/ medical college. 10.2. The High Court of Bombay is hearing a batch of petitions [W.P. No. 6751/2018 titled Dr. Priya P. Shah v. Union of India], wherein similar issues, as urged in the present petitions, are pending adjudication. In the said case, vide order dated 13th July, 2018, the Court has expressed preliminary views against recognition of FCPS courses.

Petitioners are attempting to interpret the impugned letter de hors the contextual background, which cannot be the basis to strike down said policy decision.

25. The discussion would be incomplete without taking note of antecedent facts which exhibit Respondents' well-founded hesitation in granting equivalence to FCPS courses. The objection for treating FCPS courses commensurable with MS/MD degrees is founded on the status and persona of CPS Mumbai itself. The said institute is neither affiliated to any recognised university nor is recognised/ deemed under the University Grants Commission Act, 1956. NMC, after inspection and substantial deliberation, had concluded that CPS Mumbai does not have a full-time teaching faculty, adequate infrastructure and other training facilities such as clinical material, equipment and laboratory facilities, that are prerequisite for grant of quality medical education. Mr. Singhdev had argued that CPS Mumbai provided admission in FCPS courses solely on the basis of MBBS degrees, which is violative of the Postgraduate Medical Education Regulations, 2000 whereunder, admissions to postgraduate level courses such as MS or MD are mandatorily required to be done on the basis of prospective candidate's performance in merit-based national level admission tests. Reliance was also placed on a letter dated 31st March, 2021 addressed to MoHFW, where NMC expressed concerns over quality of training provided by CPS Mumbai and highlighted the lack of supporting evidence to show that persons possessing FCPS qualifications contributed substantially towards the improvement of rural healthcare infrastructure, which is the need of the hour. It is for the above-stated reasons that Respondents favoured de-recognising equivalence of FCPS courses with their counterparts viz. MS/MD degrees.

31. Petitioners have strongly relied upon the decision of a coordinate bench of this Court in Umang Litoriya (Supra). In that case, certain candidates challenged the disqualification created by the information bulletin for DNB-PDCET examination in respect of candidates holding diplomas from CPS Mumbai. During the course of proceedings, MoHFW was directed to file an affidavit explaining its stand regarding recognition of said diplomas in light of inconsistency in views of NMC and MoHFW. MoHFW then placed the impugned letter on record and accordingly, Petitioners therein who possessed DPB, DGO and DCH diploma qualifications from CPS Mumbai were permitted to appear for DNB- PDCET examination. The impugned letter categorically states that "Diploma qualifications DPB, DGO and DCH - awarded by the CPS, Mumbai are equivalent to their corresponding other recognized Diploma qualifications" and in terms thereof, Petitioners therein were allowed to sit for concerned examination; however, position of FCPS courses is just the opposite. This Court had not adjudicated or expressed any views upon the issue of equivalence and disposed of the petition in terms of the impugned letter whereas, in the instant cases, the impugned letter itself has been challenged. Since the issues urged in present cases are fundamentally different as in Umang Litoriya (Supra), this case cannot be cited as a See: Rajat Duhan and Ors. v. All India Institute of Medical Sciences and Ors., (2019) SC OnLine Del 11437 and Ashwin Prafulla Pimpalwar v. State of Maharashtra, AIR (1992) Bom 233.