Circular restricting ANM admissions quashed

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 6

A year after the Indian Nursing Council came out with a circular for restricting Auxiliary Nursing and Midwives (ANM) course admissions to students with Punjab domicile, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has quashed it.

“The restriction/reservation for admission to the ANM course only for students who are domicile of the state of Punjab is patently illegal and is in violation of Article 14 of the Constitution, Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain asserted.

The ruling came on a bunch of two petitions filed against the Union of India and other respondents by Mata Sundri Educational Welfare Society and another petitioner.

Petitioner’s counsel Nitin Kant Setia argued it envisaged 100 per cent reservation on the basis of place of residence/birth and imposed a complete ban on admission for the students of other states.

Justice Jain asserted the only question involved in the petition was whether a complete restriction could be imposed in respect of admission on the basis of domicile? Referring to judgment in Dr Pardeep Jain’s case, Justice Jain asserted the Constitution recognised only one domicile — India.