Orissa High Court
Manisha Prusty And Others vs State Of Odisha on 19 March, 2025
Bench: B. P. Routray, Chittaranjan Dash
Signature Not Verified
Digitally Signed
Signed by: MANAS KUMAR PANDA
Designation: Personal Assistant
Reason: Authentication
Location: OHC, Cuttack
Date: 19-Mar-2025 17:23:54
IN THE HIGH COURT OF ORISSA AT CUTTACK
WP(C) No.1117 of 2025
Manisha Prusty and Others .... Petitioners
Ms. Pami Rath, Sr. Advocate
-versus-
State of Odisha, represented through its
Commissioner-cum-Secretary,
Department of Health and Family
Welfare and Others .... Opp. Parties
Ms. B.L. Tripathy, Additional Standing Counsel
Mr. R.C. Mohanty, counsel for DMET
Mr. A.K. Ray, Sr. Panel Counsel for INC
WP(C) No.1993 of 2025
Barsharani Sahoo and Another .... Petitioners
Mr. S. Satapathy, Advocate
-versus-
State of Odisha, represented through its
Commissioner-cum-Secretary,
Department of Health and Family
Welfare and Others .... Opp. Parties
Ms. B.L. Tripathy, Additional Standing Counsel
Mr. R.C. Mohanty, counsel for DMET
Mr. A.K. Ray, Sr. Panel Counsel for INC
WP(C) No.4832 of 2025
Shrabani Parida and Others .... Petitioners
Mr. S. Rout, Advocate
-versus-
State of Odisha, represented through its
Commissioner-cum-Secretary,
Department of Health and Family
Welfare and Others .... Opp. Parties
Ms. B.L. Tripathy, Additional Standing Counsel
Mr. R.C. Mohanty, counsel for DMET
Mr. A.K. Ray, Sr. Panel Counsel for INC
Signature Not Verified
Digitally Signed
Signed by: MANAS KUMAR PANDA
Designation: Personal Assistant
Reason: Authentication
Location: OHC, Cuttack
Date: 19-Mar-2025 17:23:54
WP(C) No.1341 of 2025
Suchismita Rout and Another .... Petitioners
Mr. P.K. Mohapatra, Advocate
-versus-
State of Odisha, represented through its
Commissioner-cum-Secretary,
Department of Health and Family
Welfare and Others .... Opp. Parties
Ms. B.L. Tripathy, Additional Standing Counsel
Mr. R.C. Mohanty, counsel for DMET
Mr. A.K. Ray, Sr. Panel Counsel for INC
Mr. B.K. Ragada, counsel for O.P. No.4
CORAM:
JUSTICE B. P. ROUTRAY
JUSTICE CHITTARANJAN DASH
ORDER
19.3.2025
Order No.
08. 1. Heard Mrs. P. Rath, learned senior counsel along with Mr. S.
Satapathy, Mr. S. Rout and Mr. P.K. Mohapatra, learned counsels
for the Petitioners, Mr. R.C. Mohanty, learned counsel for
DMET, Mr. A.K. Ray, learned senior panel counsel for Indian
Nursing Council, Mr. B.K. Ragada, learned counsel for Odisha
University of Health Services and Ms. B.L. Tripathy, learned
ASC for State.
2. All the Petitioners in above four writ petitions belong to
SEBC category.
3. Initially the advertisement for admission into different
nursing courses for the Session 2024-2025 was issued on 20th
May, 2024 including the course for Basic B.Sc. Nursing. The
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schedule for entrance examination was fixed to 20th July, 2024 for
Basic B.Sc. Nursing course (Annexure-C/2). In the initial
advertisement, no reservation was prescribed for SEBC
candidates and the same was challenged by some other petitioners
in WP(C) No.16382 of 2024 and this court disposed of said writ
petition on 31st July, 2024. Further, 5 other petitioners belonging
to SEBC category approached this court in WP(C) No.25371 of
2024 praying for inclusion of their candidature for extending the
benefits provided to the OBC candidates. WP(C) No.25371 of
2024 was disposed of by this court on 26th November, 2024 with
the observation that the SEBC candidates in State of Odisha are
entitled to such relaxation / benefits as provided to OBC
candidates prescribed in the guideline of Indian Nursing Council,
and direction was issued to consider the candidature of those
petitioners for their admission to B.Sc. Nursing course.
After the judgment was passed in WP(C) No.25371 of 2024,
the DMET extended the benefits of relaxation to those eligible
candidates under SEBC category before the last date of
admission, i.e. on 30th November, 2024 and a notification to that
effect was uploaded immediately in the website on 27th
November, 2024.
4. It is now contended on behalf of present Petitioners that
though they belong to SEBC category but could not be aware of
such notification of the DMET dated 27th November, 2024
permitting SEBC candidates with same relaxation given to OBC
candidates and therefore, they could not apply online within the
stipulated date, i.e. 30th November, 2024. It is contended on
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behalf of the Petitioners that within the short period of 3 days
they were unable to know about such decision taken by the
DMET to permit SEBC candidates and therefore, a further
opportunity should be granted to them to make their applications
beyond the last date prescribed by Indian Nursing Council.
5. It is also submitted on behalf of the Petitioners that in fact
they all have taken admission under the management quota in
private colleges after 30th November, 2024, specifically in the
month of December and they only required to be permitted to
appear in the examination held by Odisha Council of Nursing for
B.Sc. Nursing course.
6. Mr. Mohanty, learned counsel for DMET submits that once
the candidates could not take admission within the stipulated
period they cannot be permitted to validate their admissions even
under management quota to make them eligible to appear in the
examination for the course. A detailed counter affidavit has been
filed on behalf of the DMET denying the contentions of
Petitioners.
7. Indian Nursing Council have filed their reply stating that the
power to prescribe conditions of admission including last date of
application is within the statutory power of the Council under
relevant regulations. It is also contended that the academic
session for the year 2024-25 has already started and classes are
being taken up regularly. So permitting the Petitioners at this
stage would disrupt the entire programme of the academic year.
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8. We are aware of the settled law that extension of last date of
admission prescribed by the authority cannot be reviewed
judicially by this court and no student should be permitted to take
admission after the last date. The decision of this court dated 14th
May, 2024 passed in WP(C) No.39868 of 2023 is relevant to be
reproduced below:-
"25. Considering the entire conspectus of the matter as
discussed above, the reliefs which the petitioners are seeking in the
present batch of writ petitions cannot be granted for the following
reasons:
(i) The institutions cannot be allowed to give admissions to
students for the academic sessions 2023-24 as the extended cut-off
date for such admission prescribed by the INC expired on
30.10.2023 itself. The said timeline, in the Court's opinion should
not be extended by this Court exercising power of judicial review
under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.
(ii) In view of the policy of the INC that admissions to such
courses would be only through CEE and no candidate who has not
qualified or not appeared in the CEE shall be given admission, such
requirement which aims to achieve the object of admission of
meritorious candidates in the courses should not be tinkered with,
more so, in view of the law laid down by the Supreme Court in P.A.
Inamdar (supra) and Modern Dental College & Research Centre
(supra).
26. However, while rejecting the reliefs sought for in the
present batch of writ petitions, we deem it just and proper to issue
following directions in the interest of justice and to avoid
recurrence of such situation, as has arisen in the present batch of
cases in future, because of non-adherence to the calendar prescribed
by the Health and Family Welfare Department, Government of
Odisha: -
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(i) All concerned shall, without any exception, adhere to
date/time schedule prescribed by the Government of Odisha in the
Health and Family Welfare Department vide Letter No.26601 dated
22.10.2019; for issuance of NOC and grant of recognition.
(ii) There shall be no departure, in any case, from the said time
schedule without the leave of this Court. Any departure from time
schedule shall be viewed seriously by this Court.
(iii) Unless otherwise provided by the INC, no admissions shall
be given by any nursing institution in the courses without merit-
based CEE.
(iv) No admission shall be given to any student in a nursing
institution after the cut-off date for admission, as may be prescribed
by the INC."
9. It is true that many more seats in B.Sc. Nursing course are
still lying vacant in different private colleges as admitted by the
parties. What is contended on behalf of the Petitioners that they
have already taken admission under management quota in the
month of December in different private colleges and pursuing
their studies by attending classes till date is not disputed. So in
such peculiar circumstances, taking note of the fact that the
Petitioners are genuine candidates under SEBC category who
could not apply their candidature online before the last date, we
leave it to the discretion of the DMET to take a decision with
regard to permitting them to appear in the examination concerned,
provided the concerned institutions have taken lawful steps to
intimate admission of the Petitioners to concerned authority. The
decision shall be taken by the DMET within a period of 30 days
from the date of receipt of certified copy of this order.
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10. With aforesaid observations and directions the writ petitions
stand disposed of.
(B.P. Routray)
Judge
(Chittaranjan Dash)
Judge
M.K.Panda
