The Delhi High Court issued a notice in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on Tuesday, seeking to quash the existing rule that only women candidates are eligible for B.Sc. (Hons.) nursing courses in colleges run by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi University (DU), and the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU).
Advocate Robin Raju, appearing for the petitioner, submitted, “This is a matter where I am challenging this gender-based eligibility criterion for admissions to B.Sc. nursing courses with Respondent No. 2 (AIIMS), DU, and GGSIPU. The case is that this academic year’s prospectus itself states…Kindly look at the prospectus”.
Noting that a similar petition is pending, related to the Indian Army, a division bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Mini Pushkarna posted the matter for hearing together on February 19, 2024.
“The present petition has been filed challenging the existing rules of the respondents (universities), which state that only female candidates are eligible for B.Sc. (Hons.) nursing courses in nursing colleges run by Respondent No. 2, 3, and 5 (AIIMS, Delhi University, and IP University) and further direct Respondents No. 1 (Union of India) and 4 to introduce a fresh note that provides that persons of all genders are eligible for admission to B.Sc. (H) nursing courses,” the bench said.
It noted, “The learned counsel for the petitioner states that the healthcare sector of the country is facing an acute shortage of nurses, and it is, therefore, important to open the doors of the nursing profession to all genders”.
The plea filed by the Indian Professional Nurses Association (IPNA), a non-governmental registered body for the welfare of nurses across India. It seeks directions to the Union of India and Delhi government to consider making a fresh rule that provides that persons of all genders are eligible for admission to B.Sc. (Hons.) nursing courses.
The plea filed through Advocates Robin Raju and Aanchal Bumb stated that the rule being adopted to entitle only female candidates for admission to the B.Sc.(H) Nursing course would fail when put to the test on the touchstone of equality.
“Denying other genders, apart from females, the opportunity to study a B.Sc. (H) nursing course in premier and affordable nursing colleges in Delhi is arbitrary and against the principles of democracy, fairness, and equality,” it stated.
The plea further stated that the practice of considering only female candidates eligible for admission to B.Sc.(H) Nursing course is manifestly “arbitrary” and does not meet the standard of reasonable nexus to object sought to be achieved and reasonable classification based on intelligible differentia imposed by Article 14.
“The classification created only entitles female candidates to a specific B.Sc. (H) nursing course on the basis of a rule that does not consider present-day realities. The rule completely discards the fact that there is a dearth of nursing professionals in the country, and hence prohibiting non-female candidates from getting admission to the B.Sc. (H) Nursing course is also against the interest of the public at large,” the plea reads.
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