Delhi HC Seeks Responses on Gender-Specific Admission Rules for Nursing Courses

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday sought the stand of the Centre and city government on a petition challenging provisions that restrict admission to B.Sc (Hons) Nursing courses at AIIMS, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, and Delhi University to only female candidates.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice Mamohan and Justice Mini Pushkarna, issued notice on the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the Indian Professional Nurses Association.

The court asked the governments, institutes, and Indian Nursing Council to submit their replies within four weeks.

Advocate Robin Raju, representing the petitioner, stated that the challenge was against the gender-based eligibility criteria. Given the shortage of nurses in the country, the petition argued that individuals of all genders should be allowed to apply for the course.

The petitioner, a non-governmental registered body advocating for the welfare of nurses nationwide, emphasized that the discrimination faced by male and third gender candidates in the admission process of nursing colleges affiliated with the respondents needed attention.

The plea contended that restricting the opportunity to study B.Sc (H) nursing course in premier nursing colleges of Delhi to only female candidates was arbitrary and violated democratic, fair, and equality principles. It highlighted that the classification favoring female candidates disregards the current shortage of nursing professionals in the country, and thus, denying non-female candidates admission to the course is against the public interest.

The court scheduled the next hearing for February 19, 2023.