Nursing Institute Inspections must be done by Councils only: Karnataka HC
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has ruled that the responsibility for inspecting nursing institutes lies with designated regulatory bodies such as the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS), Indian Nursing Council (INC), and Karnataka Nursing Council (KNC), and not with district deputy commissioners.
This judgment overrides a directive from the state government, which instructed all deputy commissioners to carry out inspections of nursing institutions within their jurisdictions based on directions from the medical education minister.
Justice Suraj Govindaraj issued the verdict while allowing a series of petitions filed by the Karnataka State Association of the Management of Nursing and Allied Health Science Institutions and others, who had contested the State's directive issued by the Principal Secretary of the Health and Family Welfare Department on November 5, 2024, reports Mirror.
The court stated, “The intent of the Minister may be noble and proper and to protect the interests of the students and parents, but taking into consideration the legal aspects, these inspections can only be carried out by the concerned specialised agencies like the RGUHS, INC, and KNC.” The court made this observation on the remarks of the minister who was addressing some of the concerns of some of the students and their parents, reports the Daily.
According to the daily, in his order, Justice Govindaraj directed RGUHS, INC, and KNC to launch an online platform to publicly share inspection reports of nursing institutes under their jurisdiction. The court emphasized that details such as infrastructure assessments, licences, sanctions, and other authorisations must be transparently available on the official websites of the respective university and councils.
Moreover, the court instructed that information on any legal proceedings involving nursing institutions, as well as complaints received by INC, KNC, and RGUHS, should also be accessible online. To improve accountability and transparency, the court further mandated the creation of systems that allow students, faculty members, and parents to file grievances through these web portals.
