Bombay High Court Directs Action Against Management Of Various Nursing Colleges For Granting Illegal Admissions

Bombay High Court Directs Action Against The Management Of Various Nursing Colleges For Granting Illegal Admissions To Students; Orders Refund Of Fees And ₹1 Lakh Compensation To The Students The Bombay High Court has directed stringent action against several nursing colleges across Maharashtra for granting admissions to ineligible students in the Auxiliary Nurse Midwifery (ANM) and General Nursing and Midwifery (GNM) courses in violation of prescribed requirements. The Court further ordered the management to refund the full fees collected from students and to pay ₹1 lakh each as compensation for the academic loss suffered by them.A Division Bench of Justice Ravindra V. Ghuge and Justice Ashwin D. Bhobe was hearing a group of petitions filed by students whose admissions to the first year of ANM/GNM courses were cancelled by the Indian Nursing Council (INC) after a verification exercise revealed that they lacked the requisite educational qualifications. The students had been admitted during the 2024–25 academic year by the colleges.The petitioners contended that they were admitted after clearing their 12th standard vocational stream exams and had been allowed to attend classes for over seven months before their admissions were cancelled. They argued that earlier batches of students with similar qualifications had been permitted to complete the course and that they should not be penalised selectively.The Court, however, found that the petitioners were ineligible for admission to their vocational subjects. The Bench noted that 90 students had been illegally admitted, of whom 68 had left the course voluntarily, while 22 had approached the Court. It observed that though the petitioners admit that they do not fulfil the requisite qualification, they are seeking negative parity with the senior students whose admissions are also illegal. “The peculiarity in these cases is that even the Petitioners admit that they do not fulfil the requisite qualifications. It is their contention that the College Managements have admitted them by charging them Rs. 60,000/- each. They seek negative parity with some students whose admissions are also illegal and are presently in the 2nd and 3rd Years,” the Court observed. The Court observed that allowing the contentions of the petitioners would be an injustice to those who have lost their admissions due to the admissions being illegal. It observed: “… it would be an injustice to those who have lost their admissions because of such illegal admissions… Having noticed the illegal admissions of the Petitioners, who are amongst 90 such cancelled admissions, of the very 1st semester of the 1st Year, no equities are created in favour of the Petitioners.”The Court ordered cancellation of the petitioners' admissions and directed the competent authorities to initiate action against the managements of the colleges, including scrutiny of admissions over the preceding five years. It further directed that the managements refund the full fees collected from the students and pay ₹1,00,000 each as compensation within 45 days.Case Title: Nandini Prakash Ingawale & Anr. v. The State of Maharashtra & Ors. [Writ Petition No. 5697 of 2025, along with connected petitions]Click Here To Read/Download Order

Bombay High Court Directs Action Against Management Of Various Nursing Colleges For Granting Illegal Admissions

Saksham Vaishya

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