Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Cracking down hard on continued non-compliance, the Jabalpur bench of the High Court on Friday ordered the secretary of Indian Nursing Council and the registrar and chairman of the MP Nursing Council to personally appear before the court.
The court has demanded an explanation for their repeated failure to submit recognition-related documents in the ongoing nursing college recognition fraud case.
A special bench of Justice Sanjay Dwivedi and Justice Achal Kumar Paliwal was hearing the PIL filed by Vishal Baghel, president of Law Students Association, along with multiple related petitions. The petitioner alleged that the authorities have defied the High Court’s directives three times, failing to submit complete recognition records of nursing colleges. The plea accuses the councils of willful disobedience in an effort to shield those responsible for the scam.
The court observed that non-compliance amounts to obstruction of justice, and has warned of contempt proceedings if the responsible officials do not appear and offer a satisfactory explanation. The High Court said that failure to present documents is equivalent to interfering in judicial proceedings.
In a separate submission, the petitioner informed the court that a High Court-appointed committee had transferred students from 30 unrecognised or ineligible nursing colleges to other institutions without following a transparent process. Students were allegedly not given the choice to select their preferred colleges, raising serious concern over fairness and legality of the transition process.
The court has stated that the committee’s role in the matter is now over and has asked for the final report to be submitted by May 31.
Nursing Scam Case
Court: High Court, Jabalpur bench
Bench: Justice Sanjay Dwivedi & Justice Achal Kumar Paliwal
Petitioner: Vishal Baghel, president of Law Students Association
Issue: Fraud in recognition of nursing colleges
Respondents summoned: Secretary, Indian Nursing Council& Registrar & Chairman, MP Nursing Council
Allegation: Repeated non-compliance with court orders, record suppression
Next Deadline: May 31, for final report submission
