' This judgment shall dispose of Writ Petition Nos.969/91, 10257/91, 10329/91, 10447/91, 10533/91, 10543/91 and 10545/91 as common questions of law and facts are involved in all of them.
2. Petitioners in all these cases are stated to have applied for admission to an examination for Pharmacy Assistant (Register B) to be conducted by the Punjab Pharmacy Council hereinafter called the Provincial Council. Petitioner in Writ Petition No,969/91 sought admission to the examination to be held on 10-2-1991 while the petitioners in all other cases were the candidates for the examination commencing from 13-11-1991. Complaint of the petitioners, as set out in the writ petitions, is that they were not issued roll numbers nor were they sent any written intimation rejecting their applications. Some of the petitioners, however, contacted the concerned authorities in the Provincial Council who verbally told them that since they were not registered as Apprentices in Pharmacy, they were ineligible to appear in the examination. Petitioners then invoked Constitutional jurisdiction of this Court praying that the respondents authorities be directed to allow them to sit in the examination in question and to issue roll numbers to them. Writ petitions were admitted to regular hearing to consider the question whether the provisions of clause (c) of section 30 of the Pharmacy Act, 1967, were applicable to the petitioners when the registration of Apprentices in Pharmacy had been discontinued in the year 1981. As an interim relief, petitioners were permitted to take the examination but it was directed that their results will not be declared.
3. Learned counsel appearing in support of these petitions submitted that the petitioners were no doubt registered as Apprentices in Pharmacy but nonetheless the provisions of clause (c) of section 30 of the Pharmacy Act, 1967, hereinafter called the Act, which required that an applicant for admission to an examination held under section 29 must have been registered as an Apprentice in Pharmacy were not applicable to them because the registration of Apprentices had been discontinued since 1981 and it was not re-opened till today. Reliance for this submission was placed on the first proviso to clause (c) of Section 30 which excludes the application of clause (c) during any period during which registration of Apprentices in Pharmacy remains discontinued and for a period of two years thereafter.
' Learned counsel for the respondents, on the other hand, contended that the registration of Apprentices in the Pharmacy was discontinued with a view to reduce the number of applicants for admission to the examinations held for the purpose of registration of Pharmacists. Learned counsel argued that if the plea advanced by the petitioners was accepted, it would defeat the objective of discontinuing the registration of Apprentices with the result that thousands of people from all over Punjab would become eligible to appear in the examination in question adding ultimately to the number of unemployed Pharmacists.
4. In order to better appreciate the contentions raised by the learned counsel for the parties, it would be of advantage to refer to the relevant provisions of the Pharmacy Act which are reproduced hereunder:--- "24. Preparation and maintenance of Registers.-:--(1) The Provincial Council shall prepare or cause to be prepared and maintained the following Registers of Pharmacists and Apprentices for the Province, namely:-
(a) Register A---in which shall be registered the persons specified in clause (a) of subsection (1) of section 25;
(b) Register B---in which shall be registered the persons specified in clauses (b) and (c) of the said subsection; and
(c) Resister C---in which shall be registered the Apprentices in Pharmacy: ' Provided that the Provincial Council may, with the previous approval of the Provincial Government, discontinue the registration of Apprentices in Pharmacy and may, with like approval re-open such registration after , it has been discontinued and shall, upon such discontinuance or re-opening, publish in the official Gazette a notice thereof specifying the date of such discontinuance or re- opening.
(2) .............................
25. Qualifications for registration as a Pharmacist or as an Apprentice in Pharmacy.---
(1) The following persons shall, subject to the provision of subsection (3), be qualified for registration as Pharmacists under this Act, namely:
(a) Persons who hold a degree in Pharmacy conferred by a University or an institution affiliated thereto, where the degree is recognised by the Central Council;
(b) Persons who hold a diploma in Pharmacy granted by any institution recognised by the Central Council; and
(c) Persons who pass the examination in Pharmacy held by a Provincial Council.
(1-a)............................................................................
(2) The following persons shall, subject to the provisions of subsection;
(3) be qualified to be registered as an Apprentice in Pharmacy, namely:-
(i) an Inspector of Drugs and a Government Analyst appointed under the Drugs Act,. 1940 (XXIII of 1940), if not otherwise eligible for registration;
(ii) a person certified by a Government Hospital to be a qualified Compounder and Dispenser;
(iii) a person who has been taken as a student or Apprentice in Pharmacy by, and produces a certificate to that effect from, a Pharmacist registered in Register "A" and approved for the purpose, by notification in the official Gazette, by the Provincial Government; and
(iv) a person who is a qualified person within the meaning of rule 65 of the West Pakistan Drugs, 1958, if not otherwise eligible for registration.
(3) No person shall be qualified for registration as a Pharmacist or as an Apprentice in Pharmacy-- -
(a) if he is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a Court; or
(b) if he has been convicted by a Court of any offence which in the opinion of the Provincial Council involves moral turpitude.
29. Examination for registration as Pharmacists: --(1) For the purpose of registration as Pharmacists, the Provincial Council shall, after giving notice in this behalf hold examination twice in every year.
(2) ................................................
(3) ................................
(4) ................................................
30. An applicant for admission to an examination under section 29,
(a) shall not be below seventeen years of age on the date fixed for the examination;
(b) must have passed the matriculation examination or an equivalent Higher Secondary or Senior Cambridge examination with general science as one of the subjects; and
(c) must have been registered as an Apprentice in Pharmacy for a period of not less than two years before the date fixed for the examination: ' Provided that clause (c) shall not apply during any period during which registration of Apprentices in Pharmacy remains discontinued under the proviso to subsection (1) of section 24 and the period of two years thereafter: ' Provided further that, notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, it shall not be necessary for any Apprentice in Pharmacy to attend any regular classes or to complete any number of days of lectures at any institution for the purpose of being qualified to be admitted to an examination under section 29."
5. According to the provisions aforequoted, three registers are prepared and maintained for registering the Pharmacists and Apprentices in Pharmacy. Those who hold a degree in Pharmacy conferred by a University or an institution affiliated thereto, where such degree is recognized by the Central Council are registered in Register A. Holders of a Diploma in Pharmacy granted by any institution recognized by the Central Council as also the persons who have passed the examination in Pharmacy held by a Provincial Council are registered in Register B. Apprentices in Pharmacy are, however, registered in Register C. Examination in Pharmacy is held by the Provincial Council twice a year. Those who pass this examination are qualified for being registered as a- Pharmacist in Register B. During the course of hearing of these petitions, it was admitted on all hands that the examinations held by the Provincial Council in February and November, 1991 for which the petitioners had applied were the examinations in Pharmacy referred to I (c) of subsection (1) of section 25. Qualifications for admission to such an examination are laid down in section 30. One such qualification which forms the subject-matter of controversy in these cases is that the applicant must have been registered as an Apprentice in Pharmacy for a period of not less than two years before the date fixed for the examination. This qualification which is contained in clause (c) of section 30 is, however, subject to the proviso which lays down that clause (c) shall not apply during any period during which registration of Apprentices in Pharmacy remains discontinued and for the period of two years thereafter.
6. Petitioners admittedly were not registered as apprentices in Pharmacy when they applied for admission to the examinations aforementioned. They were, therefore, not possessed of the qualification mentioned in clause (c) of section 30 namely that an applicant for admission to an examination must have been registered as an apprentice for a period of at least two years before the examination. The first proviso appended to clause (c), however, lays down in express terms that the said clause shall not apply during the period which the registration of apprentices in Pharmacy remains discontinued under the proviso to subsection (1) of section 24 and for a period of two years thereafter. The proviso seemingly was inserted to guard against a situation where a person desirous of taking an examination held under section 29 of the Act is unable to get himself registered as an apprentice in Pharmacy for no fault of his own but because the registration of the apprentices was discontinued. In the instant case, it is an admitted position that the registration of the apprentices was discontinued as far back as the year 1981 and it was never re-opened thereafter. In the circumstances, it was rightly contended for the petitioners that clause (c) of section 30 was not applicable to them by reason of the proviso appended thereto which is in the nature of an exception to the substantive provision enacted in the main clause and the petitioners could not, therefore, be refused admission to the examinations on the ground that they were not registered an apprentices.
' The argument of the learned counsel for the respondents that the registration of apprentices was discontinued with a view to reduce the number of Pharmacists does not merit any serious consideration when examining the effect of the .First proviso to clause (c) of section 30. It may pertinently be pointed out that the said proviso specially refers to the proviso to subsection (1) of section 24 whereunder registration of apprentices is discontinued and reopened. The legislature was quite conscious of the object of discontinuing the registration of apprentices under the proviso to subsection (1) of section 24, yet it added the proviso to clause (c) of section 30 specifically stating that clause (c) shall not apply during the period when the registration of apprentices remains discontinued. Needless to observe that the proviso in question placed as it is speaks the last intention of the Law-Maker.
' Upshot of the above discussion is that the impugned action of the respondents in refusing to admit the petitioners to the examinations in Pharmacy held in February and November, 1991 was wholly illegal and the same is declared to be without lawful authority and of no legal effect. It is further declared that since the registration of apprentices in Pharmacy was discontinued in 1981 and has remained discontinued till today, the petitioners were qualified/eligible to be admitted to the said examinations notwithstanding the fact that they were not registered as apprentices in Pharmacy. Resultantly, it is directed that the result of all those petitioners who sat in the examinations aforementioned in pursuance of this Court's order, shall be declared/announced forthwith. All the writ petitions are thus allowed in the aforesaid terms but with no order as to costs.