(iii) To issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate
writ, order, or direction, directing the 1st respondent to issue
Letter of Permission for commencing General Nursing and
Midwifery Course in the petitioner Institution, which is
covered by Exhibit P6 No Objection Certificate in a time
bound manner;
(iv) To issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate
writ, order, or direction, directing the 1st respondent to grant
the letter of permission to the petitioner institution,
provisionally without insisting for the suitability certificate
from the 3rd respondent;
(v) To Issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate
writ, order, or direction, directing the 1st and 3rd respondents
to include the petitioner institution for the General Nursing
and Midwifery (GNM) course, which is covered under Exhibit
P6 for centralized allotment process in the academic year
2025-26;"
3. There will be an interim order directing the 3rd respondent
to grant Suitability Certificate to the petitioner provisionally.
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On the petitioner producing the Suitability Certificate, the
1st respondent shall include the petitioner-Institution in the
centralised allotment for GNM Course, provisionally and
subject to further orders in this writ petition."
3. On 21.10.2025, when this writ appeal came up for
admission, the same was admitted on file. The 1st respondent
entered appearance through counsel, the 2nd respondent through
the learned Senior Government Pleader and the 3rd respondent
Kerala Nurses and Midwives Council through the learned Standing
Counsel. Paragraph 3 of the interim order granted by this Court
on 21.10.2025 reads thus;
"4. Having considered the preliminary submissions made at
the Bar, we find that the appellant has made out a prima
facie case for grant of an interim order. Therefore, there will
be an interim order as prayed for, for a period of two weeks."
By the order dated 21.10.2025, this Court granted an interim stay
of operation and implementation of the interim order dated
17.09.2025 of the learned Single Judge in W.P.(C)No.33806 of
2025, for a period of two weeks.
4. Heard arguments of the learned Standing Counsel for
Indian Nursing Council for the appellant-3rd respondent, the
learned counsel for the 1st respondent-writ petitioner, the learned
Senior Government Pleader for the 2nd respondent and also the
2025:KER:82361
learned Standing Counsel for Kerala Nurses and Midwives Council
for the 3rd respondent.
5. During the course of arguments, the learned counsel
for the 1st respondent-petitioner would submit that since the time
limit for admitting the students for General Nursing and Midwifery
(GNM) Course under the Centralized Allotment Process for the
academic year 2025-26 will be over by 30.11.2025, this writ
appeal may be disposed of, by directing the appellant Indian
Nursing Council, the 3rd respondent in W.P.(C)No.33806 of 2025
to file its counter affidavit in the writ petition within a time limit to
be fixed by this Court, so as to enable the learned Single Judge to
finally dispose of the matter expeditiously.
6. Section 5 of the Kerala High Court Act deals with appeal
from judgment or order of Single Judge. As per Section 5(i) of the
Act, an appeal shall lie to a Bench of two Judges from a judgment
or order of a Single Judge in the exercise of original jurisdiction.
7. On the question of maintainability of a writ appeal
under Section 5(i) of the Kerala High Court Act, against an interim
order passed by a learned Single Judge during the pendency of
the writ petition, the Larger Bench in K. S. Das v. State of Kerala
[1992 (2) KLT 358] held that the word 'order' in Section 5(i) of
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the Kerala High Court Act includes, apart from other orders, orders
passed by the High Court in miscellaneous petitions filed in the
writ petitions provided the orders are to be in force pending the
writ petition. An appeal would lie against such orders only if the
orders substantially affect or touch upon the substantial rights or
liabilities of the parties or are matters of moment and cause
substantial prejudice to the parties. The nature of the 'order'
appealable belongs to the category of 'intermediate orders'
referred to by the Apex Court in Madhu Limaye v. State of
Maharashtra [(1977) 4 SCC 551]. The word 'order' is not
confined to 'final order' which disposes of the writ petition. The
'orders' should not however, be ad-interim orders in force pending
the miscellaneous petition or orders merely of a procedural nature.
8. In Thomas P. T. and another v. Bijo Thomas and
others [2021 (6) KLT 196], a Division Bench of this Court
noticed that the view that was upheld by the Larger Bench in K.S.
Das [1992 (2) KLT 358] was that even though an appeal could
be filed against an interlocutory order passed in a writ petition, in
order to be qualified for challenge in an appeal, the order shall be
either substantially affecting or touching upon the substantial
rights or liabilities of the parties or which are matters of moment
2025:KER:82361
and cause substantial prejudice to the parties. According to the
Larger Bench, the nature of the order appealable belongs to the
category of intermediate orders referred to by the Apex Court in
Madhu Limaye [(1977) 4 SCC 551]. It was, however, clarified
by the Larger Bench that such orders should not, however, be ad
interim orders or orders merely of a procedural nature.
9. In the instant case, by the impugned interim order
dated 17.09.2025, the learned Single Judge directed the appellant
Indian Nursing Council to grant suitability certificate to the writ
petitioner, provisionally, and on the writ petitioner producing the
suitability certificate the 2nd respondent State of Kerala was
directed to include the petitioner institution in the Centralized
Allotment Process for General Nursing and Midwifery (GNM)
Course, provisionally, subject to further orders to be passed in the
writ petition. The aforesaid interim order granted by the learned
Single Judge caused substantial prejudice to the appellant and the
learned Single Judge went wrong in passing such an interim order,
without affording a reasonable opportunity to the appellant herein
to substantiate its contentions by filing a counter affidavit in the
writ petition. By granting such an interim order, the learned Single
Judge virtually granted the main relief sought for in the writ
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petition.
10. In State of Kerala v. Pradeepkumar A.V. [2025 (1)
KHC 672], this Court was dealing with a writ petition seeking a
declaration that the senior-most Registrar of the High Court
appointed by promotion from the High Court Service is entitled to
a higher grade in the scale of pay Rs.129300-166800 (Special
Secretary's scale), with effect from 01.04.2021, as recommended
by the Hon'ble the Chief Justice in the letter dated 16.02.2021 and
by the 11th Pay Revision Commission in its report [Part II,
February, 2021]; and a writ of mandamus commanding the 2nd
respondent to accept the proposal made by the Hon'ble the Chief
Justice as per the letter dated 16.02.2021 and to issue orders
sanctioning a higher grade in the scale of pay Rs.129300-166800
with effect from 01.04.2021 to the senior-most Registrar
appointed by promotion from the High Court service, on a par with
the scale of pay of Special Secretary to the Government. The
interim relief sought for in the writ petition was an order directing
the 2nd respondent High Court to issue orders sanctioning a higher
grade with effect from 01.04.2021, in the scale of pay Rs.129300-
166800, as recommended by the Hon'ble the Chief Justice in the
letter dated 16.02.2021 and by the 11th Pay Revision Commission
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in its report, to the senior-most Registrar appointed by promotion
from the High Court Service, pending disposal of the writ petition.
On 12.12.2024, when the writ petition came up for consideration,
the learned Single Judge passed the following order;
''Post this matter on 10.01.2025. If the recommendation of the
Hon'ble Chief Justice dated 16.02.2021 is not implemented before
the next date of posting of this writ petition, the Chief Secretary
of the State shall remain present before this Court on that day
itself.''
11. In Pradeepkumar A.V. [2025 (1) KHC 672], while
setting aside the said interim order of the learned Single Judge,
this Court held that the interim relief sought for in the writ petition
is nothing but the final relief. Therefore, instead of passing the
impugned interim order dated 12.12.2024, the learned Single
Judge ought to have considered the rival contentions and decided
the question as to whether the writ petitioner is entitled to a writ
of mandamus, as sought for in that writ petition. At any rate, by
way of an interim order, respondents 1 to 3 in the writ petition
cannot be directed to implement before the next posting of the
writ petition, the recommendation made by the Hon'ble the Chief
Justice in the letter dated 16.02.2021, failing which the Chief
Secretary shall remain present before the Court on 10.01.2025
itself.
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12. In the above circumstances, we find no reason to
sustain the interim order dated 17.09.2025 of the learned Single
Judge in W.P.(C)No.33806 of 2025, on the aforesaid ground. The
writ appeal is accordingly disposed of by setting aside the interim
order dated 17.09.2025 in W.P.(C)No.33806 of 2025; however,
leaving open the legal and factual contentions raised by both sides
touching the merits of the matter pending before the learned
Single Judge in that writ petition.
13. The learned Standing Counsel Indian Nursing Council
would submit that the counter affidavit of the 3 rd respondent in
W.P.(C)No.33806 of 2025 shall be placed on record within one
week.
It would be open to the 1st respondent-writ petitioner to
bring up the writ petition before the learned Single Judge for
expeditious consideration.
Sd/-
ANIL K. NARENDRAN, JUDGE
Sd/-
MURALEE KRISHNA S., JUDGE
MSA
2025:KER:82361
PETITIONER ANNEXURES
Annexure A1 TRUE COPY OF THE INDIAN NURSING COUNCIL
{GUIDELINES/NORMS FOR UPGRADATION OF THE
GENERAL NURSING AND MIDWIFERY (GNM) COURSE
TO B.SC. (NURSING) COURSE ON VOLUNTARY
BASIS}, REGULATIONS 2020
Annexure A2 TRUE COPY OF THE RELEVANT PAGE OF THE WEBSITE
DISPLAYING THE NAME OF THE SRI SARADA COLLEGE
OF NURSING
Annexure A3 TRUE COPY OF COMMUNICATION DATED 06-12-2024
ISSUED BY THE INDIAN NURSING COUNCIL
Annexure A4 TRUE COPY OF COMMUNICATION DATED 09-04-2024
ISSUED BY THE INDIAN NURSING COUNCIL TO THE
SREE GOKULAM SCHOOL OF NURSING
