Bombay High Court
Kale Sangram David vs The State Of Maharashtra Thr. Its ... on 22 September, 2025
Author: Ravindra V. Ghuge
Bench: Ravindra V. Ghuge
2-5.WP11866.2025.odt
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
(Sr. No. 2) WRIT PETITION NO. 11866 OF 2025
Priyanka Tukaram Kole & Anr. ... Petitioners.
V/s.
The State of Maharashtra & Ors. ... Respondents.
WITH
(Sr. No. 3) WRIT PETITION NO. 5697 OF 2025
Nandini Prakash Ingawale & Anr. ... Petitioners.
V/s.
The State of Maharashtra & Ors. ... Respondents.
WITH
INTERIM APPLICATION NO. 10976 OF 2025
IN
WRIT PETITION NO. 5697 OF 2025
Maharashtra State Board of Nursing
and Paramedical Education Director
of Medical Education and Research. ... Applicant.
In the matter between
Nandini Prakash Ingawale & Anr. ... Petitioners.
V/s.
The State of Maharashtra & Ors. ... Respondents.
WITH
WRIT PETITION NO. 5706 OF 2025
Purvaja Pramod More & Anr. ... Petitioners.
V/s.
The State of Maharashtra & Ors. ... Respondents.
Talwalkar 1
::: Uploaded on - 22/09/2025 ::: Downloaded on - 22/09/2025 21:34:05 :::
2-5.WP11866.2025.odt
WITH
WRIT PETITION NO. 7574 OF 2025
Makandar Mustakim Miraso. ... Petitioner.
V/s.
The State of Maharashtra & Ors. ... Respondents.
WITH
WRIT PETITION (ST) NO. 18156 OF 2025
Kale Sangram David. ... Petitioner.
V/s.
The State of Maharashtra & Ors. ... Respondents.
WITH
WRIT PETITION NO. 8987 OF 2025
Om Bhagwan Shinde. ... Petitioner.
V/s.
The State of Maharashtra & Ors. ... Respondents.
WITH
(Sr. No. 4) WRIT PETITION NO. 11411 OF 2025
Vaishnavi Vinod Adgale. ... Petitioner.
V/s.
State of Maharashtra & Ors. ... Respondents.
WITH
WRIT PETITION NO. 11412 OF 2025
Rangoli Sagar Gaikwad. ... Petitioner.
V/s.
State of Maharashtra & Ors. ... Respondents.
WITH
WRIT PETITION NO. 11409 OF 2025
Talwalkar 2
::: Uploaded on - 22/09/2025 ::: Downloaded on - 22/09/2025 21:34:05 :::
2-5.WP11866.2025.odt
Tanuja Prashant Gahukar & Ors ... Petitioner.
V/s.
State of Maharashtra & Ors. ... Respondents.
WITH
(Sr. No. 5) WRIT PETITION NO. 12431 OF 2025
Vaishali Gautamrao Sardar & Ors ... Petitioner.
V/s.
State of Maharashtra & Ors. ... Respondents.
---
Mr. Nikhil Pujari i/b. Mr. Pratik B. Rahade, Advocate for Petitioners in
WP/11866/2025, WP/11411/2025, WP/11412/2025, WP/11409/2025 &
WP/12431/2025.
Ms. Sakshi Thombre, Advocate for Petitioners in WP/5697/2025,
WP/5706/2025, WP/7574/2025, WPst/18156/2025 & WP/8987/2025.
Mr. Sandeep Dere, a/w. Ms. Arati Patil Dere, Ms. Sonali Pawar,
Advocate for Respondent Nos. 2 to 5.
Mr. Ajit Hon, Advocate for Respondent No. 3 in all the matters.
Mr. P.P. Kakade, Addl. G.P. a/w. Mr. V.G. Badgujar, AGP for
Respondent/State in WP/11866/2025.
Ms. Gauri Raghuwanshi, AGP for Respondent/State in WP/5697/2025,
WP/5706/2025, WP/7574/2025, WPst/18156/2025 & WP/8987/2025.
Mrs. Vaishali Raut, Registrar, Maharashtra State Board of Nursing and
Para-Medical Education.
---
CORAM : RAVINDRA V. GHUGE AND
ASHWIN D. BHOBE, JJ.
DATE : 22nd SEPTEMBER, 2025
P.C. :
1. On 20.09.2025, we had passed the following order :
2-5.WP11866.2025.odt
1. This matter was already on today's
board. On mentioning, it was taken on the
production board.
2. The Petitioners are two students
whose admissions to the GNM Course under
the vocational stream at Respondent No.4
college, was cancelled on 4th March, 2025
after the admission of these students was
scrutinized and it was found that they were
illegally inducted in the course by the college.
In fact, the college also wrote to Respondent
No. 2, the Board, on 17th April 2025,
informing that the admissions of these
students had been cancelled. The students
themselves issued consent letters for the
cancellation of their admissions,
acknowledging that the same were irregular
and could not have been regularized.
3. These Petitioners are before us
today seeking parity with the students who
were the Petitioners before the Coordinate
Bench of this Court in Writ Petition Nos.
5697 of 2025, 5706 of 2025, 7574 of 2025,
8987 of 2025 and Writ Petition (St.) No.
18156 of 2025, wherein those Petitioners
were conditionally permitted to appear for the
exams.
4. The learned Advocate for the
college, as well as the learned Advocate for
the Board, state that the admission of both
these students was cancelled. When called
upon as to whether these two students were
attending the classes after their admissions
were cancelled, the learned Advocate for the
college, hesitantly submits that they attended
the classes. Such statement will have to be
scrutinized in the light of the fact that the
college knew that the admission of these two
2-5.WP11866.2025.odt
students was cancelled. The question is how
the college performed such a high-handed act
of letting the students sit in the classrooms
and participate in the day-to-day classes.
5. We are told that the Petitioners in
the other Writ Petitions, who received the
order dated 29th July 2025, conditionally
permitting them to appear for the exam, are
also identically placed. Their admissions
have also been cancelled. Though Mr.Dere,
the learned Advocate for the Board, informs
the Court that their admissions were
cancelled, the learned Advocate for the
college made a bold statement, on
instructions, that such students continued to
attend classes because the college granted
them attendance. It is an altogether different
situation, wherein students who were on the
verge of completing their entire educational
curriculum need to be protected against
sudden cancellation of their admissions.
6. This is a case wherein all the
students are in their first year and were
admitted on 1st October 2024. It is a three-
year course, and this is just the beginning.
Question is whether their illegal admissions
can be protected, only because the
Management has surreptitiously allowed them
to attend the classes.
7. We are listing these Petitions along
with Writ Petition Nos. 5697 of 2025, 5706 of
2025, 7574 of 2025, 8987 of 2025, 11411 of
2025, 11412 of 2025, 11409 of 2025, 29066
of 2025, 11866 of 2025 and Writ Petition (St.)
No. 18156 of 2025 at serial No.1 in the cause
list, on 22nd September, 2025.
2-5.WP11866.2025.odt
8. Both the Petitioners in this
Petition, as well as in the other Petitions,
which are mentioned above, shall tender their
individual affidavit undertakings to this Court
on 22nd September 2025, stating that if this
Court concludes that their admissions are
illegal, they would quit the course and would
not claim any equities. Similarly, the
college shall file an affidavit in this Court
stating that if this Court concludes that the
college played a fraud, and imposes costs of
Rs. 1,00,000/-, they will deposit the said
amount in this Court."
2. We have heard the learned Advocate for the respective sides
for quite some time even today. All these Petitioners have secured
admission to ANM & GNN courses (Nursing Course) after the 12 th
standard exams. For guidance, the Indian Nursing Council informed the
Registrar of the Maharashtra State Board of Nursing and Para-Medical
Education (for short "MSBNPME"), Directorate of Medical Education
and Research, Mumbai, vide communication dated 24.02.2025, as
under :
"Sub: To get Guidance on the following matters - reg
Madam,
This has reference to your letter no. MSBNPE/12588/2024
dated 24.02.2024 on the subject noted above, by keeping in mind
the eligibility criteria for ANM and GNM programme; the
2-5.WP11866.2025.odt
Vocational stream -specialization (extracted from the CBSE list of
Vocational Subjects- copy enclosed) as stated below can be
considered for the admission to ANM & GNM programas :
• S.no. 13 (c) Yoga Anatomy and Physiology,
• S.no. 14-Ophthalmic Techniques,
• S. no.15-Medical Laboratory Technology (Laboratory
Machine (Clinical Pathology, Hematology &
Histopathology, Clinical Biochemistry, Microbiology)
• S.no. 16-Auxiliary Nursing & Midwifery (Fundamentals of
Nursing II, Community Nursing II, Maternity & Child
Health Nursing II)-(for GNM program)
• S.no. 17-X-Ray Technician- (Radiation Physics,
Radiography I (General), Radiography II (Special
Investigation, Imaging and Radiograph).
This issues with the approval of Competent Authority."
3. The Registrar of the MSBNPME is present in the court
hall. After due verification of the Applications of these Petitioners, it is
stated that the admission of these 22 students cannot just be termed as
being irregular. These are illegal admissions. For example, our attention
is drawn to one Petitioner namely, Kole Priyanka Tukaram. Her 12 th
standard curriculum was in the stream "HSC Vocational". Following are
her subjects at the 12th standard :
"01 ENGLISH
02 MARATHI
90 GENERAL FOUNDATION COURSE
X1 COMPUTER TECHNIQUE 1
X2 COMPUTER TECHNIQUE 2
X3 COMPUTER TECHNIQUE 3
31 ENVIRONMENT EDUCATION"
2-5.WP11866.2025.odt
4. For example, one more candidate's 12th Standard HSC
Vocational stream namely, Mhaske Balaji Navnath, is as under :
"01 ENGLISH
02 MARATHI
90 GENERAL FOUNDATION COURSE
L4 CROP SCIENCE 1
L5 CROP SCIENCE 2
L6 CROP SCIENCE 3
31 ENVIRONMENT EDUCATION"
5. Mr. Dere, the learned Advocate is instructed to state that
those candidates who were from the Arts and Commerce faculty, but had
any of the subjects reproduced herein above in paragraph Nos. 3 and 4 at
the 12th Standard, were permitted since the Indian Nursing Council had
extended guidance vide the above reproduced communication dated
24.2.2025, and students with any of the said subjects were entitled to
take admission.
6. These facts were suppressed from this Court which passed
an interim order on 29th July, 2025 in Writ Petition Nos. 5697 of 2025,
7574 of 2025, 8987 of 2025 and Stamp No. 18156 of 2025.
Consequently, the Coordinate Bench permitted the Petitioners to appear
for the exams beginning from tomorrow, concluding on 26th September,
2025.
2-5.WP11866.2025.odt
7. In matters of such nature, if illegal admissions are allowed
to be continued, this would amount to a fraud being played on the
system. If the college is responsible for such a fraud, the students can
seek damages against the college, in as much as, this Court can direct the
Indian Nursing Council as well as the MSBNPME, to initiate appropriate
action against such erring colleges. No doubt, one year of the students is
likely to be wasted. However, it is unbelievable that these students are
so gullible that they did not know after reading the brochure that they
were not eligible for an admission. If the Management has decided to
play a fraud and assured such students of admissions only because such
Managements earlier got away with such a fraud, the students will have
a right to seek damages and the Statutory Authority will have a right to
take action. Instead of giving false hopes to such students and
subsequently taking away their degree certificates and ousting them from
such courses after having spent 3 years in such a course, a lesser damage
would be caused if remedial steps are taken now.
8. Since we have heard these matters at great length on
Saturday, 20th September, 2025 and today, we are directing the
Petitioners as well as the Respondents, to tender their written notes of
submissions along with case law on 26th September, 2025. If any of the
2-5.WP11866.2025.odt
litigating parties fail to submit the written notes, it would be deemed that
they do not desire to submit their written notes and are relying on their
oral submissions.
9. Since we intend to close the matter on 26th September, 2025
after receiving the synoptical notes and since we have disclosed to the
litigating parties that our ex-facie view expressed in the order dated 20th
September, 2025 or any observation made today is purely at an prima-
facie stage, we are permitting all these Petitioners to appear for the
exams commencing from tomorrow, subject to certain conditions.
10. The learned Advocate Mr. Dere, hastens to add that there
were 90 such illegal admissions, out of which 22 Petitioners are before
this Court. 68 admissions of the students have already been cancelled.
They are not before the Court. He, therefore, made an attempt to urge us
not to permit these 22 students to appear for the exams since the 68
students have already been ousted from appearing in the exams, more so,
in the light of the fact that the admissions of all these students have
already been cancelled on 4th March, 2025. The college has already
intimated the said students and it is the view of the Board that they have
not participated in the day to day educational curriculum and classes.
2-5.WP11866.2025.odt
11. Since we are closing the matter for Judgment on 26th
September, 2025, after receiving the synoptical notes/bullet points and
case law from the parties and since the Coordinate Bench has earlier
permitted some of these Petitioners to appear for the exams from
tomorrow, we would permit them to take their exams commencing from
tomorrow on the following conditions :
(a) As directed in the Order dated 20th September, 2025,
each of the Petitioners would tender the affidavit undertaking that
if this Court concludes that the admissions were illegal and
upholds the action of the cancellation of their admissions, they
would have to quit the Course.
(b) If we conclude that the admissions are legal, we
would pass appropriate orders.
(c) If we hold that the admissions are illegal, the
Petitioners would be at liberty to avail of the remedies.
(d) All these Petitioners who would appear for the
exams, are precluded from making a request that their results be
declared since we are finally deciding these Petitions.
12. Stand over to 26th September, 2025 for receiving the
affidavits of the Petitioners (those who have not already filed) as well as
2-5.WP11866.2025.odt
the affidavit of Management and their written notes/bullet points with
case laws.
13. We appreciate the gesture of the Registrar of the MSBNPE
in having made offline examination arrangement to permit these students
to appear for the exams strictly as per the time table made applicable to
all the students who have been legally admitted to take the online
examination.
(ASHWIN D. BHOBE, J.) (RAVINDRA V. GHUGE, J.)
