Bombay High Court
Varsha Bahu-Udeshiya Mahila Prasarak ... vs State Of Maharashtra, Thr. Secretary, ... on 25 September, 2024
Author: Bharati Dangre
Bench: Bharati Dangre
2024:BHC-NAG:11050-DB
1 930-Awp3532.23 (J)
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
NAGPUR BENCH : NAGPUR
WRIT PETITION NO.3532 OF 2023
1. Varsha Bahu-Udeshiya Mahila Prasarak
Mandal, Ramabai Ambedkar Ward,
Bhandara, District-Bhandara,
Through its Secretary.
2. Aromira School of Nursing,
Ramabai Ambedkar Ward,
Bhandara, Dist. Bhandara
Through its Principal. ... Petitioners
- Versus -
1. State of Maharashtra,
Through its Secretary,
Department of Medical Education &
Drugs, Mantralaya,
Mumbai-32.
2. Maharashtra State Board of Nursing
and Paramedical Education,
Through its Director,
Near C.S.T., Mumbai-400001.
3. Commissioner, Medical Education
and Research, Govt. Dental and
Medical College & Hospital, 4th Floor,
St. George Hospital Premises, Fort,
Mumbai-01. ... Respondents
2 930-Awp3532.23 (J)
Mr. N.S. Warulkar, Advocate for the petitioners.
Mr. H.D. Marathe, Assistant Government Pleader for respondent
nos.1 and 3.
Mr. Tejas S. Kene, Advocate for respondent no.2.
Mr. A.S. Tiwari, Advocate for proposed intervenors.
..........
CORAM : BHARATI DANGRE &
ABHAY J. MANTRI, JJ.
DATE : 25th September, 2024.
ORAL JUDGMENT (PER : BHARATI DANGRE, J.) :-
Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith.
2. The petitioner no.1-Varsha Bahu-Udeshiya Mahila
Prasarak Mandal along with petitioner no.2-Aromira School of
Nursing, being run at Ramabai Ambedkar Ward, Bhandara has
approached this court, seeking primary relief against the
Maharashtra State Board of Nursing and Paramedical
Education, Mumbai for updating their online portal for the
students admitted in the petitioner no.2 Nursing College in
General Nursing and Midwifery (for short 'GNM').
3 930-Awp3532.23 (J)
The relief is sought to consider enrolment of the
students, as due to technical glitch in the portal, the online
process of their registration could not be completed.
By amending the petition, challenge is also raised
to the communication dated 19.01.2024 issued by the Registrar
of the Board, informing the petitioners that since the extended
period for enrolment on the portal has expired, the students
shall not be enrolled.
3. We have heard learned counsel for the petitioners
and the learned counsel representing the Board.
By consent of the parties, we have taken up the
petition for final hearing at the stage of admission.
4. The petitioner no.2 is a Minority Institution being
run by the petitioner no.1, a registered society and it received
minority status since 15.07.2016.
4 930-Awp3532.23 (J)
The petitioner no.2 started the Nursing Course after
complying with the necessary formalities, which included the
inspection of the Institution through the authorised panel and
on 21.02.2022, the respondent no.2 forwarded a
recommendation for increasing the intake capacity of the
respondent no.2, by 40 seats from the Academic Session 2022-
2023 for conducting the GNM Course and thus, now it was
recommended that the petitioner no.2 would be entitled to
admit 20 (existing) and 40 (new) i.e. 60 students, in all.
5. This recommendation was kept pending before the
State Government till 30.12.2022, when the medical education
and the drugs department sanctioned the recommended intake
for the petitioner no.2, for the Academic Session 2022-2023 for
the GNM Course subject to certain stipulations, which included
the compliance of the various statutory supervisory bodies and
another stipulation to the effect that the number of students to
be admitted shall not exceed the sanctioned strength.
5 930-Awp3532.23 (J)
6. For the Academic Session 2022-2023, the petitioner
no.2 admitted students on 30.12.2022 and 31.12.2022.
It is also worth to note that on 31.12.2022 itself,
the Director of the Board, by addressing the communication to
the petitioners, conferred provisional affiliation for the GNM
programme for the Academic Year 2022-2023 with intake of
(20+40) 60 (Sixty) Seats
Enhancement of these seats which was again made
subject to the stipulation of maintaining of uniform standards
and norms as per Indian Nursing Council and the Maharashtra
State Board of Nursing and Paramedical Education (MSBNPE)
Act 2013 ('MSBNPE Act, 2013') and maintaining of the
teachers student ratio as per prescribed norms.
Certain conditions are also stipulated in the same,
but since we are not concerned with the same, we are not
referring to all of them.
7. Pursuant to the increased intake capacity sanctioned
by the State Government and the provisional affiliation
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received, the students were admitted by the petitioner no.2
and attempt was made to enroll them on the website, and this
is evident from the email communications which are placed on
record at Annexure-4, right from 31.12.2022 at 3:26 PM and
repeated attempt being made at 3:54 PM and 7:23 PM.
At 7:45 PM a response is received from the Director
by the College to the following effect :
"Please call now to technical Support, No is
available
8976279931,
31st is last date.".
Another email received at 7:56 PM by the College reads to the
following :
"There is not an issue for MSBNPE Site if any
problem then call now to technical team
technical team is available
8676279931
also we are contact to you but there is no response
31st dec 2022 is last date of enrollment.
8. In the wake of the aforesaid response at the end
of the respondents since a technical glitch was faced, it is the
case of the petitioners that since the portal was closed on
31.12.2022 at 12.00 PM, the students who were admitted
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could not be enrolled, and this included 4 students for the ANM
Course and 36 students for GNM Course.
When the time came for submission of the
examination forms of these students and since they were held
not eligible for appearing in the first year examination, the
petitioners knocked the doors of this court and on 09.06.2023,
the Division Bench of this court, while issuing notice to the
respondents, passed the following interim order :
"It is directed by an ad-interim order that the
petitioners be permitted to submit the examination
forms of 4 students pursuing A.N.M. course and 36
students pursuing G.N.M. course to enable them to
appear in First Year Examination. This direction is
subject to the final outcome of the Writ Petition.
The said students shall not claim any equity on the
basis of this ad-interim order. Their appearance in
the said examination will be at the risk of the
petitioners."
9. It is in the wake of the aforesaid order, the
petitioners continued to follow their curriculum, a two years
course, and they have also undergone the curriculum for the
second year.
8 930-Awp3532.23 (J)
On 12.04.2024, once again, the issue as cropped
up before this Court, and recording that the controversy
revolved around the fact, whether indeed on 31.12.2022
the students, as indicated in the order dated 09.06.2023, had
secured admission, to verify the position, the petitioners were
directed to submit all the necessary documents to the
respondent no.2, indicating that the admission process was
completed on or before 31.12.2022.
In compliance thereof, the respondent no.2 has
placed on record an affidavit dated 16.04.2024, where the
following statement is made :
"2. Respondent No.2 on verification of the
documents submitted to it, by the Petitioners on
15/04/2024 as per directions of this Hon'ble Court,
as regards admission of the students for the
Academic Year 2022-23, found the following
factual position.
(a) All the Admission Forms do not have/bear
signatures of concerned students (i.e. 4 students to
ANM Course and 34 students to GNM Course) who
allegedly have been admitted to the respective
Courses in Academic Year 2022-23.
(b) The Admission Forms neither have
signature of any Authority from the Institution nor
bears the stamp of the Institution.
(c) Some Admission Forms bear date as
30.12.2022 (i.e. before grant of affiliation by
Respondent No.2 - Board) and some bear date as
31.12.2022.
9 930-Awp3532.23 (J)
(e) There appears to be some issue as regards
two students one Raksha Tirpude and another
Simran jambular. When petitioner's had forward
the student list as per court order dated 09.06.2023
in respect of permission getting for students but
subsequently they requested respondent no.02-
Board to issued hall ticket not in name of Simran
Jambhulkar but in name of Raksha Tripude.
However, in that list name of Raksha Tripude never
sent by petitioner."
10. The affidavit also include a table reflecting the
name of the students and the date of admission as compiled
from the documents submitted by the petitioners, to the
respondent no.2-Board and this includes a list of 36 + 4
students indicating that they are admitted either on 30.12.2022
or on 31.12.2022.
Responding to the affidavit of the petitioners, the
Board has also filed an affidavit through its Registrar on
19.04.2024, and it has once again reiterated upon the fact that
the cut-off date of the admission was till 11.59 p.m. on
31.12.2022 and the Website/Online Portal of Respondent No.2
was fully functional and active, but they did not receive the
registration forms in respect of these 40 candidates admitted by
the petitioners. It is also pleaded that except for making a bold
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statement about the technical glitch in the online process or
some problem being faced on the website of the respondent
no.2, the petitioners have not placed any material to fortify the
claim.
11. On going through the pleadings in the petition as
well as the additional affidavits filed by the petitioners in
compliance with the directions of this court and the subsequent
affidavit filed by the Board, what we take note of, is the
pleading in the petition to the effect that, pursuant to the
decision of the State Government dated 30.12.2022, and the
provisional affiliation that was granted by the Board on
31.12.2022, since there was increased in the intake capacity of
the petitioner no.2 by 40 seats, the students were admitted to
the GNM programme for the Academic Year 2022-2023.
The difficulty posed was in getting the students
enrolled and since along with the petition, the petitioners have
placed on record the admission forms reflecting the admission
date which is shown to be either 30.12.2022 or 31.12.2022 and
11 930-Awp3532.23 (J)
since these students have undergone the curriculum of two
years, on the basis of the order passed by this court and on the
basis of the order of this court, they were permitted to appear
for the first year examination and the second year examination
is scheduled in October-2024, for which permission is already
granted for the students to appear for the examination, we do
not find any merit in the contention raised on behalf of the
Board, that they were never enrolled.
Worth it to note that there is nothing pointed out by
the Board also, that there was no technical glitch and if the
petitioners are repeatedly writing e-mails which are placed on
record and a response received from the Board is "please
contact the technical team", this itself goes to show that there
was some technical issue faced at the end of the petitioners.
12. In any case, the students having been admitted and
they having undergone the first year examination of the
curriculum and are ready for the second year examination of
the ANM course, we see no reason to disrupt the academic
advancement of the petitioners and direct the respondent no.2-
12 930-Awp3532.23 (J)
Board to declare the result of the first year examination, which
the students have undertaken.
Since we find no difficulty in construing that the
admission of the said 40 students was duly made after the State
Government had recommended increase in the intake capacity
by 40 seats and even the provisional affiliation was received by
the Board, we deem it appropriate to allow the petitioners to
take the second year examination which is scheduled in
October-2024, by making Rule absolute with the following
directions ;
(A) The 40 students who are admitted to the
GNM/ANM Course by the petitioner no.2 in the Academic
Sessions 2022-2023, shall be permitted to be registered with
the Board either by opening the online portal for them by way
of an exceptional circumstance or permitting their registration
by physical mode by submitting the necessary documents of the
students.
13 930-Awp3532.23 (J)
(B) The result of the 40 students admitted by the
petitioner no.2 shall be declared by the Board i.e. respondent
no.2 within a period of one week from today.
(C) The above students, on being registered with
the Board, shall be permitted to appear for the second year
examination and needless to state, their results shall be duly
declared.
13. In view of disposal of the writ petition, all pending
applications therein also stand disposed of.
(ABHAY J. MANTRI, J.) (BHARATI DANGRE, J.)
Gulande
Signed by: A.S. GULANDE
Designation: PS To Honourable Judge
Date: 03/10/2024 20:31:01
