The Himachal Pradesh High Court has held that denying Staff Nurses study leave to pursue postgraduate courses in Nursing, while allowing Medical Officers to pursue postgraduate studies as in-service candidates, is discriminatory.

The Court remarked that if postgraduate qualifications obtained by Medical Officers are considered beneficial to public interest, the same rationale would apply to Nurses pursuing higher studies in their own professional field.

Justice Jyotsna Rewal Dua observed that: “In case a Medical Officer can be granted study leave for pursuing a post-graduate degree/course as an in-service candidate, it defies logic as to why a nurse cannot be granted study leave for undertaking post-graduate course in Nursing. If, according to the respondents, a post-graduate degree obtained by Medical Officers will advance public interest in discharge of their duties, the same analogy would also hold good for the post-graduate degree obtained by Nurses.”

The petitioners, Archna Thakur and Haseena Kumari, were appointed as contractual Staff Nurses on May 19, 2021, and their services were regularised on November 10, 2023. After securing admission to the M.Sc. Nursing course for the 2026–2027 academic session as in-service candidates, they applied for No Objection Certificates (NOCs) and study leave.

However, the Himachal Pradesh Government rejected their requests through a communication dated October 3, 2026, while granting the same benefit to eight other Staff Nurses.

Aggrieved by the decision, the petitioners approached the Himachal Pradesh High Court.

The Himachal Pradesh High Court held that the petitioners' contractual service was required to be counted towards the five-year qualifying period for study leave under Rule 50 of the Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972.

The Court rejected the State's distinction between Medical Officers and Staff Nurses, observing that postgraduate education in Nursing would also advance public interest. It further noted that eight similarly situated Staff Nurses had been granted study leave, making the denial to the petitioners discriminatory.

Accordingly, the Court quashed the State's decision and directed the authorities to grant the petitioners NOCs and study leave to pursue M.Sc. Nursing for the 2026–2027 academic session.

Date of Decision: 15.10.2026