Sumana Samanta & Ors vs The State Of West Bengal & Ors
2023 Latest Caselaw 4219 Cal

14.7.2023 ap

WPA 13406 of 2023

Sumana Samanta & Ors.

Vs.

The State of West Bengal & Ors.

Mr. Siddhartha Sankar Mandal Ms. Arunima Das Sharma ... For the petitioner.

Mr. Amitava Chowdhuri Mr. Samrat Paul ... For the State.

Mr. Nilotpal Chatterjee ... For INC.

The petitioner nos.1, 2, 3 and 4 have jointly filed the

instant writ petition challenging the orders dated

January 05, 2023, October 21, 2022, May 16, 2023 and

May 16, 2023 respectively issued by the Registrar, West

Bengal Nursing Council, whereby the benefit of reciprocal

registration under the West Bengal Nursing Council was

declined to the petitioners. The refusal was based on the

ground that as per Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947, the

institution from where the petitioners obtained their

qualifications, are not included in the list of recognised

institutions under the Indian Nursing Council. The

petitioners could only be registered in the State where

the institutions are located.

Section 14 of the Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947

is reproduced below: -

"14. Withdrawal of recognition. - (1) When, upon

report by the Executive Committee, it appears to the

Council -

(a) that the courses of study and training and

the examinations to be gone through in order to

obtain a recognised qualification from any

authority in any State or the conditions for

admission to such courses or the standards of

proficiency required form the candidates at such

examinations are not in conformity with the

regulations made under this Act or fall short of

the standards required thereby, or

(b) that an institution recognised by a State

Council for the training of nurses, midwives,

[auxiliary nurse-midwives] or health visitors

does not satisfy the requirements of the Council,

the Council may send to the Government of the

State in which the authority or institution, as

the case may be, is situated a statement to such

effect, and the State Government shall forward

it, along with such remarks as it may think fit to

the authority or institution concerned and, in a

case referred to in clause (b) to the State Council

also, with an intimation of the period within

which the authority or institution may submit

its explanation to the State Government.

(2) On the receipt of the explanation or, where

no explanation is submitted within the period

fixed, then on the expiry of the period, the State

Government shall make its recommendations to

the Council.

(3) The Council, after such further inquiry, if

any, as it may think fit to make, and in a case

referred to in clause (b) of sub-section (1), after

considering any remarks which the State

Council may have addressed to it, may declare, -

(a) In a case referred to in clause (a) of that

sub-section, that the qualifications granted by

the authority concerned shall be recognised

qualifications only when granted before a

specified date, or

(b) In a case referred to in the said clause (b),

that with effect from a date specified in the

declaration any person holding a recognised

qualification whose period of training any study

preparatory to the grant to him of the

qualification was passed at the institution

concerned shall be entitled to be registered only

in the State in which the institution is situated.

(4) The Council may declare that any

recognised qualification granted outside the

State shall be a recognised qualification only if

granted before a specified date."

Section 14 of Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947

needs to be read with Regulation 4 of Indian

Nursing Council (Minimum Pre-requisites for

Granting Suitability to Nursing Programs)

Regulations, 2020. The said Clause (4) is

quoted below:-

"4. Minimum pre-requisites {for starting GNM

and B.Sc. (Nursing)}

(i) The following Establishments/organizations

are eligible to establish to establish/open a GNM

School of Nursing/B.Sc. (Nursing) College of

Nursing.

a) Central Government / State Government / Local Body:

b) Registered Private or Public Trust;

c) Organizations registered under Societies Registration Act including Missionary Organizations;

d) Companies incorporated under Section 8 of Company's Act.

(ii) The eligible Establishments/Organizations

should have their own 100 bedded Parent

Hospital is exempted.

a. Tribal area - Scheduled Notified Area {

Areas as the President of India may by order

declare to be Scheduled Areas};

b. Hilly area - Union Territory of Jammu &

Kashmir, Union of Territory of Ladakh, North

East States, Himachal Pradesh and

Uttarakahand.

(iii) The eligible Establishments/Organizations

should obtain Essentiality Certificate/No

objection Certificate from the concerned State

Government where the GNM and B.Sc. (Nursing)

College of Nursing is sought to be established.

The particulars of the name of the

College/Nursing Institution along with the name

of the Trust/Society [as mentioned in Trust

Deed or Memorandum of Association] as also

full address shall be mentioned in No Objection

Certificate/Essentiality Certificate.

(iv) After receipt of the Essentiality

Certificate/No Objection Certificate, the eligible

institution shall get recognition from the

concerned SNRC for the GNM & B.Sc. (Nursing)

Program for the particular Academic Year, which

is a mandatory requirement.

(v) The Council shall after receipt of the above

documents/proposal online would then conduct

Statutory Inspection of the recognized training

nursing institution under Section 13 of the Act

in order to assess the suitability with regard to

availability of Teaching Faculty, Clinical and

Infrastructural Facilities in conformity with

Regulations framed under the provisions of the

Act.

* Provided that training institutions shall apply

for statutory inspection, under Section 13 of the

Act, to the Council within 6 months from

obtaining recognition from SNRC."

It appears that the petitioner nos.1 and 2

have obtained their qualification from Pavana

School of Nursing while petitioner nos.3 and 4

from Shushrusha School of Nursing.

On instruction the counsel appearing for the

Indian Nursing Council (INC, in short) that:

(a) Pavana School of Nursing was found

suitable on inspection for the academic year

2021-2022, whereas Shushrusha School of

Nursing has not provided the complete

documents as directed by INC, and INC is in the

process of taking further steps in accordance

with law.

(b) The declaration as envisaged under Section

14 of the Act has not yet been passed by the

Council against either of the two institution

namely, Pavana School of Nursing and

Shushrusha School of Nursing. Therefore,

students passing out from the said college, as on

today, cannot be prevented from registering in

any other State.

(c) The reciprocal registration is granted by the

concerned State Nursing Council.

(d) The concerned State Nursing Council, being

an independent body, has the power to frame

the rules with regard to grant/refusal of

reciprocal registration.

(e) The West Bengal Nursing Council is the

competent authority in the present case to

consider the request of the petitioners in this

instant proceeding.

It is clear that the procedures as contemplated under

Section 14 of the Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947 read

with Regulation 4 of the Indian Council (Minimum Pre-

requisites for Granting Suitability to Nursing Programs)

Regulations, 2020 are yet to be completed with regard to

the relevant nursing institutions. The aforesaid stand

clarifies the writ petitioners should not be denied the

benefit of reciprocal registration before the withdrawal of

recognition by the INC. The ground that the name of the

institutions do not figure in the recognised list of the

institution of the Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947, is,

therefore, premature.

This case is covered by the judgment and order

dated April 19, 2023 passed in W.P.A. 2136 of 2023

(Saurav Ghosh Vs. State of West Bengal & Ors.)

Accordingly, the order dated January 05, 2023;

October 21, 2022; May 16, 2023 and May 16, 2023

issued by the Registrar, West Bengal Nursing Council are

set aside with a direction upon the said Registrar to

register the name of the petitioners under the West

Bengal Nursing Council within a period of two months

from the date of communication of this Order.

Needless to mention that this order shall not

prevent Indian Nursing Council to take appropriate step

in terms of Section 14 of the Indian Nursing Council Act,

1947. The colleges will submit the documents as

required by INC.

Accordingly, WPA 13406 of 2023 is allowed.

Urgent photostat certified copy of this order, if

applied for, be supplied to the parties upon compliance

with the requisite formalities.

(Kausik Chanda, J.)