NEELAM PASWAN Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner was duly admitted into the three years General Nursing Course by order dated 22. 9. 99 issued by the Addl. Director (Training), Medical & Health Services, Government of Rajasthan, Jaipur after she qualified for such admission. She joined the training on 15. 02. 1999 but thereafter she remained absent from June, 1999 for more than 15 days as a result of which a notice was sent to the petitioner for joining the course and in the event of failure to do so, her name was to be struck off from the roll. THE petitioner, however, reported and turned up to joint the course on 1. 9. 1999 alongwith a Medical Certificate of the Doctor certifying that she had been suffering from Typhoid and was bed-ridden for about two months. Although the authorities did not object to the correctness of the Medical Certificate, they did not permit her to continue the course on the plea that she was not entitled to continue with the course since she had remained absent for more than 15 days. This gave a genuine cause to the petitioner to file a writ petition in this Court in which a notice was issued on 2. 11. 99 and an interim order was passed in her favour to continue with the course on the same day. After service of notice, this matter has now been placed before this Court.

(2.) LEARNED counsel for the respondent submitted that the petitioner having absented from the class for more than 15 days without informing the authorities was not entitled to rejoin the course after more than 2 months. This has been the sole cause for objecting to the petitioner's rejoining the course. The authorities, however, have not doubted the correctness of the Medical Certificate and are only opposing the petitioner's continuance in the course on the ground of her absence clearly missing that the petitioner could have produced the Medical Certificate only after she was fit to join the course after her illness. It would be totally impractical to expect that she should have produced the Medical Certificate even while she was away form the course due to her illness. The plea of the respondents, therefore, objecting to her continuance in the course is clearly illogical and unsustainable in the eye of law. The petitioner fortunately was permitted to continue with the course by virtue of an interim order of this Court and, therefore, she would have every right to appear in any examination which is conducted for completing the course.