HC issues notice to state govt on plea seeking amendments in Delhi Nursing Council Act

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday issued notice to the Government of NCT Delhi and others on a plea seeking direction to consider bringing suitable amendments to the Delhi Nursing Council (DNC) Act.
Petitioner Indian Professional Nurses Association Petitioner through plea sought direction to declare Section 3(1)(h) of the Delhi Nursing Council Act, 1997, as unconstitutional. Plea seeks amendments in the DNC Act whereby which all the Nurses registered with the Delhi Nursing Council, can participate in the process by which members are elected to the Delhi Nursing Council.
The bench of Justice Satish Chander Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad on Thursday sought responses from the Delhi Government, Delhi Nursing Council, and the Trained Nurses Association of India.
The Petitioner organization through Advocate Robin Raju challenges Section 3(1)(h) of the Delhi Nursing Council Act, 1997, which grants special privilege to the members of the Trained Nurses Association of India to elect a member from its Delhi branch to a member of the Delhi Nursing Council.
The plea stated that the Trained Nurses Association of India with the special status to have one of its representatives in the council is clearly discriminatory and violates Article 14 of the constitution.
"Section 3(1)(h) violates Article 14 and it fails when tested on the touchstone of equality. It is also hard to fathom why special status is being given solely to Trained Nurses Association of India when there are a host of other similarly placed organisations that are working for the welfare of nurses and is registered in Delhi as well. The aforestated provision is thus
manifestly arbitrary and resultantly violative of Article 14 of the Constitution," the plea stated.

It is further submitted that Section 3(1)(h) of the DNC Act, disregards the fact that the Trained Nurses Association of India is not a statutory body for it to be given a special status.
Furthermore, it is reiterated that only a fragment of nurses who are members of the Trained Nurses Association of India is getting the right to participate in the process of election of the Council.
"The large section of Nurses registered with Delhi Nursing Council who have affiliation with a body other than Trained Nurses Association of India are being deprived of the right to vote in DNC elections, which in effect means that their fundamental right as enshrined under Article 19(1)(a) is also being violated. It is clearly arbitrary to deny the nurses the right to partake in the election process of a body which is constituted for their own welfare," the plea read. (ANI)