KAMATCHIAMMAN EDUCATIONAL TRUST Vs. INDIAN NURSING COUNCIL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS batch of seven writ petitions is decided by a common order since the issue involved is the same.

(2.) THE case of the petitioners, in a nutshell, is as under: the petitioners which are Charitable and Educational Trusts, with the intention of starting Nursing Colleges/nursing Schools, applied to the Health and Family Welfare Department of Government of Tamil Nadu and opened Joint Fixed Deposit accounts with the Directorate of Medical Education, Chennai (DME, Chennai ). The petitioners' Nursing Colleges/schools were inspected by the DME, Chennai and Inspection Report was sent by the DME, Chennai to the State Government for grant of No Objection Certificate to the petitioners to start College/school of Nursing. The State Government too passed orders, in accordance with the regulations fixed by the Indian Nursing Council, to the effect of granting No Objection Certificate to the petitioners to start College/school of Nursing. One of the conditions stipulated therein is that the petitioners should obtain recognition/suitability/affiliation from the Tamil Nadu Nurses and Midwives Council, Chennai and Indian Nursing Council, New Delhi and Dr. MGR Medical University before admitting students. On receipt of Government Orders passed to the above effect, the petitioners wrote to the respondent to send its Inspection Committee to inspect their respective institutions. Having come to know that the cut-off date for the receipt of applications by the respondent is 31. 01. 2007, the petitioners requested the respondent to exempt them from the cut-off date and honour their applications. In addition to applying to the respondent, the petitioners, as stipulated by the respective Government Orders, applied for approval from the Tamil Nadu Nurses and Midwives Council and got recognition to conduct the respective programmes on condition that they should obtain affiliation from the Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University/suitability order from Indian Nursing Council for the academic year 2007-2008 before admission of students. Further, the petitioners applied to the Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University as well for Certificate of Registration for their affiliation to the University pursuant to which inspection was conducted by the University and the University, to grant provisional affiliation, awaits registration of the petitioners with the respondent. This being the position, the Health and Family Welfare Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu, recognising the need to have more number of Nursing Colleges/nursing Schools, requested the respondent to extend the last date for submission of proposal for the academic year 2007-2008 stating a specific reason that there are a number of requests from various institutions pending in Government at various levels, but in vain.

(3.) AGGRIEVED by the respective communications of the respondent stating that their proposals to start Colleges/schools of Nursing are not considered for the academic year 2007-2008 since they were received after the cut off date of 16. 02. 2007, the petitioners have filed the present writ petitions for a writ of certiorarified mandamus as stated above.