Delhi High Court Upholds Dental Council Regulation Mandating State Govt NOC For Establishing New Colleges

The Delhi High Court has upheld the vires of Clause 6(2)(e) of the Dental Council of India (Establishment of New Dental Colleges, Opening of New or Higher Course of Study or Training and increase of Admission Capacity in Dental Colleges) Regulations, 2006— which relates to permission for establishment of new dental college, new courses of study, etc.Significant to note that the Regulations have been framed by the Dental Council of India in exercise of powers vested in Section 20 of the Dentists Act, 1948.Regulation 6 pertains to eligibility and qualifying criteria. Regulation 6(2) provides that an organization shall qualify to apply for permission to establish a dental college on fulfillment of certain conditions which are given thereunder. Sub-clause (e) requires production of Essentiality Certificate regarding “no objection” of the State Government or Union Territory administration for establishment of dental college.Petitioner-foundation, which intends to set up a dental college in Assam, challenged this provision and sought permission to establish the college without insistence for NOC from the State.Petitioner argued that the 2006 Regulations are not enforceable since they were not placed before the Parliament.The Dental Council of India opposed the prayers, stating that the 2006 Regulations must have been placed before each House of the Parliament, and only thereafter, they have been notified.At the outset the High Court observed that the Essentiality Certificate contemplated under Clause 6(2)(e) is for the State to certify that particulars have been obtained by the person/ organization applying for opening of a new dental college.Further, it noted that the provision has been enacted in terms of the Dentists Act which “clearly permits” the Dental Council to formulate a regulation wherein the form of the scheme can be prescribed and the manner in which the application for opening up of a new dental college is to be preferred, can also be prescribed.“Regulation 6(2)(e), thus, have been framed by the Dental Council in exercise of authority vested in it under Section 20 of the Dentists Act, 1948, that too with the approval of the Central Government, and accordingly, we do not find any illegality in this respect on the part of the Dental Council of India,” a division bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyay and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela observed.It also noted that Section 10A(3) of the Dentists Act permits the Council to obtain such other particulars as may be considered necessary. “The particulars to be sought for the purposes of processing any such application in terms of Section 10A(3) are not restricted, rather, whatever particulars are thought to be appropriate and necessary by the Council, such particulars can be asked for to be submitted by the person/ organization seeking to open such new Dental College,” it noted.As such, the Court held Regulation 6(2)(e) of the 2006 Regulations to be intra vires and dismissed the challenge with a cost of Rs.10,000/-.Appearance: Mr. Murari Lal Sharma, Adv for Petitioner; Mr. T. Singhdev, Mr. Abhijit Chakravarty, Mr. Tanishq Srivastava, Mr. Anum Hussain, Ms. Ramanpreet Kaur, Ms. Yamini Singh, Mr. Saurabh Kumar and Mr. Bhanu Gulati, Advs. for R-1. Mrs. Dr. Monika Arora, CGSC with Mr. Subhrodeep Saha, Ms. Anamika Thakur and Mr. Prabhat Kumar, Advs. for R-3 for RespondentsCase title: Mamtaz Foundation Through Its Director v. Dental Council of IndiaCitation: 2025 LiveLaw (Del) 1100Case no.: W.P.(C) 4941/2025Click here to read order

Delhi High Court Upholds Dental Council Regulation Mandating State Govt NOC For Establishing New Colleges

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