- (1.) This order shall dispose of two petitions bearing CWP No.23156 of 2015 titled as "Mata Sundri Educational Welfare Society (Regd) vs. Union of India" (hereinafter referred to as the "first petition") and CWP No.22386 of 2015 titled as "Mamta Devi and another vs. Indian Nursing Council and others" (hereinafter referred to as the "second petition") as the issue involved in both the cases is the same. The first petition is filed by the institute, whereas the second petition is filed by the students but their grievance is common against the validity of the circular dated 25.06.2015 issued by the Indian Nursing Council (hereinafter referred to as the "INC"). However, for the sake of convenience, the facts are being extracted from the first petition.
(2.) In brief, the petitioner is a society formed in 2005 and is registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, with an object of imparting education in nursing sector by starting ANM (Auxiliary Nursing and Midwives) and GNM (General Nursing and Midwifery) courses. The INC is established under the Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947. The INC is the apex body for regulating the training for nurses, midwives and health visitors, whereas the Punjab Nurses Registration Council is the affiliating body and is responsible for conducting the examinations in the States of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir. The ANM course was started by the Government of India vide notification dated 22.12.2006 and was published on 02.01.2007. It is alleged that according to the said notification, the terms and conditions for the purpose of admission in the ANM course was provided as under:- "Admission Terms and Conditions 1. The minimum age for admission shall be 15 years on or before 31st December of the year in which admission is sought. 2. The maximum age for admission shall be 35 years. 3. The minimum educational requirements shall be passing of : "Secondary School Certificate Examination (10 years course), 10th class or central board secondary education or a recognized equivalent public examination. Subjects of study must be equivalents by the CBSE for class X with minimum 45%. Medical Fitness Admission is subject to satisfactory of medical examination report."
(3.) The INC passed a resolution on 29.10.2014 which has been approved by its Governing Body for improvement of Nursing Educational Standards and Clause 23 of the said resolution is reproduced as under:- "23. Admission criteria for ANM/GNM and B.Sc. (N) ii. ANM * 10+2 from recognized Board. * Candidates are also eligible from State Open School recognized by State Government and National Institute of Open School (NIOS) recognized by Central Government. * 17 years as on 31st December.";