State nursing councils cannot deny registration over out-of-state degrees: Karnataka HC

State nursing councils cannot deny registration over out-of-state degrees: Karnataka HC

The court said that what is even more interesting is that the petitioners are residents of Kerala.

Express News Service

Updated on: 12 Feb 2025, 8:59 am

BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court has ruled that a state or State Nursing Council (SNC) cannot deny registration to a graduate in BSC Nursing to practice in the state on the ground that the student did not graduate from a college within the state. Also, SNC cannot insist that such students should furnish a certificate of registration or recognition from the Indian Nursing Council (INC) for enrolment or registration to practice in that state.

Justice Suraj Govindaraj passed the order, allowing a petition filed by two nursing graduates, Daniya Joy and Neethu Baby, from Kasaragod in Kerala along with three others, questioning the endorsement issued by the Kerala Nurses and Midwives Council insisting that they submit their INC registration from Karnataka where they completed their BSc, to practice in Kerala.

Both the petitioners studied at a college in Karnataka and intend to practice in Kerala. They submitted their application to KNMC to register themselves, but they were asked to submit the INC registration from where they completed their BSc. They then moved the high court.

The court said that what is even more interesting is that the petitioners are residents of Kerala.

They came to a college in Karnataka for education, obtained their degrees in Karnataka and when they wanted to go back to work in the state in which they were born, the authorities refused to register them as nurses on the ground that the college from which they obtained their degrees is not registered with INC.

This, in considered opinion, is a disservice by KNMC for persons born within its own state, to say the least, the court said.

Once A Citizen Has Been Conferred A Degree, It Would Be Valid All Over India & Has To Be Recognised By All Institutions: Karnataka HC

Once A Citizen Has Been Conferred A Degree, It Would Be Valid All Over India & Has To Be Recognised By All Institutions: Karnataka HC

Mustafa Plumber

11 Feb 2025 4:51 PM

The Karnataka High Court has declared that the Kerala State or State Nursing Council cannot seek to deny registration of a Karnataka graduate in BSc Nursing, on the ground that the said student has not graduated from a college within the state.

A single judge, Justice Suraj Govindaraj held thus while allowing a petition filed by two natives of Kerala who completed their nursing course in Karnataka but were denied registration by the State Council in Kerala for want of a certificate from the Indian Nursing Council.

The bench said, “Once a citizen of India is qualified and has been conferred a degree, that degree would be valid across the country, which has to be recognized by every institution.”

Following this it directed the Kerala Nurses and Midwives Council to register the petitioners---Daniya Joy and Neethu Baby and any other graduate holding a degree in Nursing, so as to enable them to practice the profession of nursing in the state of Kerala.

The court also declared that Kerala State Council cannot insist on the grant of any recognition from the 'Indian Nursing Council', suitability or otherwise, in respect of the college nor is there any requirement for a graduate of nursing to have registered under any other state council, before seeking for registration in the state of Kerala.

Petitioners had made an application to the Kerala Nurses and Midwives Council, for registering themselves. In response the council, called upon them to submit their INC (Indian Nursing Council) registration/affiliation of the Nursing Institution from where they had completed their education in B.Sc. Nursing.

The Kerala Council defended its action contending that the petitioners are residing in Kerala. The relief is being sought for against the Kerala Nursing Council, and therefore this Court would not have jurisdiction.

Referring to Section 21 of the Kerala Nurses and Midwives Act, 1953, it was submitted that registration is mandatory to practice/engage in the profession of nursing in the State of Kerala. Without such registration, no such permission can be granted, nor would any person be entitled to practice the profession of nursing in the State of Kerala.

Referring to Section 13 of the Indian Nursing Council Act 1947, it was said that it provides for issuing a suitability certificate. It was claimed that this was the reason why it sought for the production of such a certificate.

Findings:

Firstly the bench rejected the ground raised about maintainability of the petition by saying “Petitioners having studied in the state of Karnataka and the degree being that issued by a university situated within the state of Karnataka, this court would have jurisdiction.”

Then referring to Sections 13 and 14 of the Indian Nursing Council Act, the court held “There is no mandate under the Indian Nursing Council for a college involved in the field of education in nursing to seek and obtain registration from INC for the purpose of carrying out its activities. There being no requirement for registration with the INC, nor any procedure being provided for under the Indian Nursing Council Act for registration, the question of the second respondent insisting upon Petitioner No.1 and 2 to produce such registration certificate from the INC in respect of Petitioner No.3 does not arise.”

Further, it clarified that the aspect of suitability certificate would arise only if any complaints are filed requiring inspection by the Central Council, and the suitability report would be forwarded to the State Council for action on deficiencies, if any. The inspection for suitability also does not confer any recognition or registration to any college.

The court opined, “India is one single country with one single citizenship. Though a person may be domiciled anywhere, the citizenship remains one and the same. There is no restriction of the movement of any citizen of India from one State to another..No law can bind a person to a particular State, or mandate that a person can only work in the State where he or she has obtained his or her education. Narrow parochial views like these must be avoided and it is required to be held that a citizen of the country having a fundamental right to practice any trade or profession, such a person would be permitted to practice their trade or profession anywhere in the country.”

Noting that petitioners are residents of Kerala. They came to a college in the State of Karnataka for education, obtained their degrees in Karnataka and when they wanted to go back to work in the State in which they were born, the authorities in the State refused to register them as nurses.

The court said, “This, in my considered opinion, is a dis-service done by the 2nd respondent for persons born within its own State, to say the least.”

Stating that a State Nursing Council and the State Government, which recognises a college, issues a certificate through that University to which the said college is affiliated to, such a degree conferred on such a student is valid across the country.

The court said, “The degree being recognized across the whole of the country, a citizen of the country cannot be restricted in terms of practicing that trade or profession, when such a degree entitles that person to practice in the trade or profession in the entire country.”

It added “By contending that the degree is not conferred by the State, or by the State Council, or by the University within that particular State, a citizen of the country cannot be stopped from practicing such trade or profession in that State.”

Finally the court held “There would be no requirement for any separate arrangement between the Nursing Councils of one State and another State to arrive at reciprocity. The concept of reciprocity is unnecessary because of the recognition of the degree being nationwide, any Nursing Council across the country would have to consider and act upon a degree conferred in another State, on account of the education being completed in a college recognized by the Nursing Council of that State.”

Accordingly it allowed the petition.

Appearance: Advocate Nitin A.M, for the petitioners,

Advocate Shivarudra, for R1.

Advocate Siji Malayil, for respondent No.2.

Advocate Jyoti M. Maradi, for respondent No.3.

Citation No: 2025 LiveLaw (Kar) 55

Case Title: Daniya Joy & Others AND The Indian Nursing Council & Others

Case No: WRIT PETITION NO. 28043 OF 2024

AC EMU trains soon; tickets to cost three times more than ordinary

AC EMU trains soon; tickets to cost three times more than ordinary

Feb 13, 2025, 04.02 AM IST

Chennai: Southern Railway’s first fully air-conditioned Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) train will soon be introduced on two key routes — Chennai Beach to Tirumalpur and MGR Chennai Central to Arakkonam. The ticket prices may be three times that of regular trains.

While the present 12-rake EMU can seat 1,168 people and 2,336 people can stand, the new AC EMU 12-car rake has only 1,116 seats but space for 3,798 to stand.

With the maximum speed of 110kmph, the train has advanced bogies with fully suspended traction motors, wheel-mounted disc brakes and air spring suspension, similar to Vande Bharat trains.

The rake designed by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) is stationed at the commissioning shed in Anna Nagar.

Deputy chief mechanical engineer Udhayakumar said ticket prices have not been finalised, but early estimates suggest fares could be three times higher than regular EMU trains. Southern Railway adopting Western Railway's fare model would mean commuters traveling 29km from Chennai Beach to Tambaram pay 95, with fares set at 35 for 9km, 70 for 24km, and 95 for 34km.

The stainless-steel coaches have wide entrances and automatic sliding doors. Passengers will have access to aluminium luggage racks, GPS-based LED display boards, an announcement system and CCTV cameras in all compartments.

Out-of-syllabus questions erode NTA credibility further

Out-of-syllabus questions erode NTA credibility further

Feb 13, 2025, 03.37 AM IST

An examination of past answer keys contradicts NTA’s claims, revealing multiple instances of error-free papers in previous years. Before 2025, the highest number of dropped questions was six in Session 1 of 2024 and four in Session 2.

NTA claimed that six questions were dropped in Session 1 of 2023, 2024 and 2025, but the official answer key for 2025 lists 12 dropped questions. TOI’s analysis found five questions were dropped in Session 1 of 2023, while 2022’s Session 1 and 2 had four and six dropped questions, respectively. No questions were dropped in the Feb and March 2021 exams. Despite this, the agency defended itself, stating, “This year’s record-low challenge rate and minimal errors reaffirm NTA’s commitment to ensuring a fair, transparent, and error-free examination process for engineering aspirants nationwide.”

Experts highlight that inconsistencies in language translations further erode trust in the exam process. At least two translation errors were found in the final answer key, causing confusion. Incorrect answers were later marked correct, creating additional discrepancies. Students answering in Hindi and Gujarati had two answer choices, while others had only one, raising concerns about fairness. The inclusion of out-of-syllabus questions further damaged confidence in NTA’s reliability.

Educators and students have expressed frustration, stating, “In a prestigious exam like JEE, where students’ futures are at stake, such incompetence is unacceptable.” Errors led to confusion, such as a logic gate question from the 22nd Shift 2 paper being dropped after being deemed invalid. Physics questions also contained errors, while translation inconsistencies and marking mistakes persisted.

Despite assurances of a well-structured exam, students encountered multiple out-of-syllabus topics.

“For example, the Carnot Cycle, removed from the syllabus years ago, appeared unexpectedly in the paper. Likewise, Newton’s Law of Cooling, omitted for the past two years, suddenly had 22 related questions. This misalignment between the syllabus and the actual exam content further added to students’ distress,” an educator lamented, adding, “we expected a better paper this year — one without errors and irrelevant questions. Instead, we got a complete mess.”

Students lost valuable time on incorrectly framed questions, with some spending 10-15 minutes struggling with ambiguous problems, affecting performance and rankings. As one student put it, “It’s not just about dropping incorrect questions — it’s about the time students wasted on them. That’s a huge injustice.”

NTA has faced criticism for mismanaging various exams, including last year’s NEET-UG and UGC-NET, which were marred by controversies over paper leak allegations and irregularities. Given past failures, expectations were high for improvements in JEE-Main 2025. However, despite recommendations from the Radhakrishnan Committee categorising JEE-Main as a high-stakes exam, the agency appears to have repeated its mistakes. The committee stated, “ ...It is to be ensured that questions created will have uncontested answers... “

Amid these inconsistencies, JEE-Main faces serious credibility issues due to NTA’s continued mismanagement and lack of accountability.

This story had continued from a page 1 story in the newspaper. For your reading convenience we have added it below.

JEE-Main sees record 12 errors; NTA credibility hit

Manash.Gohain

New Delhi: A record 12 JEE-Main questions were dropped from the final answer key due to errors, the highest in recent history, raising serious concerns about the National Testing Agency’s ability to conduct a fair and transparent exam of such a large scale.

Despite reducing the total number of questions from 90 to 75, the error rate surged to 1.6%, far exceeding historical 0.6% threshold. Adding to the concern is NTA’s lack of transparency, with inconsistencies in its claims about the number of dropped questions, raising suspicions of “under-reporting” NTA DG P S Kharola did not respond to TOI questions. Education ministry has forwarded a reply from NTA that ignored syllabus discrepancy concerns, deepening scepticism about its accountability.

79 PG med seats in non-clinical streams vacant

79 PG med seats in non-clinical streams vacant

TNN | Feb 13, 2025, 04.01 AM IST

Chennai: At least 79 postgraduate medical seats in non-clinical subjects such as anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry remain vacant even after the state conducted three rounds of counselling. Officials at the state medical selection committee said no one applied for 51 govt and govt quota seats and 28 management quota seats in five non-clinical streams.

“We exhausted the merit list but found no candidates for these seats,” said a senior official in the selection committee. “We also don’t know if the students who were allotted the other non-clinical seats will turn up. The state shares 50% of postgraduate seats through the central quota,” the official said. Almost every year, seats in five non-clinical subjects – pharmacy, forensic medicine, anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry – remain vacant, the official added.

Desperate for students, deemed universities such as the SRM Medical College and Research Institute have waived tuition fees for students joining MD anatomy, biochemistry, or physiology. Some colleges even pay a stipend to students. Yet, colleges say most of these seats are vacant.

Experts say students prefer clinical specialties such as general medicine, dermatology, or surgery because they believe non-clinical streams offer limited career prospects and low incomes. Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University's former vice-chancellor, Dr Sudha Seshayyan, said, “Many medical colleges don’t have adequate teaching faculty either because they don't want to pay high salaries or because they can't find them. Non-clinical subjects are being taught by people with MSc degrees."

The Tamil Nadu govt doctors’ association is pushing to promote non-clinical careers by showcasing diverse opportunities in research and offering incentives to attract talented individuals. “Those in non-clinical streams get better perks such as non-practising allowance,” said association president Dr K Senthil.

NEWS TODAY 12.02.225

 

Doc detained for locking RGGGH dean’s door with iron chain

 Doc detained for locking RGGGH dean’s door with iron chain 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 12.02.2025

Chennai : A paediatrician from the Institute of Child Health in Egmore has been detained for allegedly locking the residential quarters of Rajiv Gandhi Govt General Hospital (RGGGH) dean Dr E Theranirajan. The action followed a complaint filed by Dr Theranirajan at the Egmore police station three days ago. Upon information from his security guard, the dean found that the front door of his residential quarters was locked with an iron chain. 

Police reviewed CCTV footage and identified Dr Senthil Kumar, a paediatrician at the Institute of Child Health, as the person who locked the door. Further investigation revealed that Dr Senthil Kumar had similarly locked the door on two previous occasions. Police said the paediatrician had a prior dispute with Dr Theranirajan. They also mentioned that Dr Senthil Kumar was previously admitted to the Institute of Mental Health, Kilpauk.