Delhi High Court Issues Notice On Plea Seeking Voting Rights For Nurses Registered With Delhi Nursing Council

A Division Bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh has kept the matter for hearing on December 13.

The Bench heard Advocate Robin Raju for the Petitioner who submitted there should be "democracy" in the functioning of the Council.

He pointed out that the Delhi Nursing Council has been formed for the welfare of the nurses registered with it and therefore, they should have right to say in its functioning.

He highlighted that by way of several RTIs it has come to fore that there is a lack of amenities for the nurses. "We are talking about the Covid warriors. Nurses form the backbone of the medical sector," he said.

He further highlighted that in all the organisations formed for welfare of the professionals, be it Doctors or Advocates, voting powers are given to the members in their respective organisations.

The plea stated,

"The Doctors registered in Delhi vote to elect members to Delhi Medical Council. Likewise, the Advocates and Chartered Accountants through voting elect their representatives in the Bar Council of Delhi and Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. Hence, to deny the Nursing Officers the right to elect Delhi Nursing Council members is clearly arbitrary and against the principles of democracy, fairness and equality."

Delhi Nursing Council is a statutory body constituted by The Delhi Nursing Council Act,1997. The Council is supervised by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Delhi Government.

Highlighting multiple concerns faced by the nursing officers, the plea raises the issue of the dire need to bring amendments in the Delhi Nursing Council Act, 1997 with regards to the process of nominating members to the nursing council.

"It is submitted that about 90,000 nurses registered with Delhi Nursing Council have no right to elect the representatives of a body that has been constituted, inter-alia, to work for their welfare," the plea states.

In this backdrop, the plea submits that the aforesaid practice adopted by the Council overlooks the fact that that the Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947, which constitutes the Indian Nursing Council, by virtue of sec. 3, provides that the Indian Nursing Council shall composed of members who should be elected by the respective bodies.

"Thus it is the understanding of the petitioner that the Central Act favours the system of election rather than nomination," the plea adds.

The plea also mentions that the Association has been raising issues since past 2 years including the last representation sent to the Respondents on June 2, 2021, however, the it is the case of the petitioner association that no corrective steps have been taken in the matter.

"..that depriving only nurses (as other professionals have the said right) the right to elect their representatives violates Article 14 and Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution," the plea submits.

The plea also seeks a further direction on Delhi Nursing Council to publish the annual audited accounts on its website.

Case Title: Indian Professional Nurses Association (IPNA) v. Delhi Nursing Council & Anr.