Nurses can work anywhere in India, rules Supreme Court

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has issued an order allowing nursing graduates and diploma holders from a state to work anywhere in the country. A bench comprising justices Rohinton Nariman and Naveen Sinha issued the order while considering a petition against a judgment of the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court.

The High Court had ruled that a person holding a nursing degree or diploma recognized by the nursing council of a state could work only in that state. The Private Nursing Schools and Colleges Management Association had approached the Supreme Court against this order. According to the petitioners, the condition that a nurse could work in another state only with the recognition of the Indian Nursing Council was untenable.

The Supreme Court considered the matter in the light of the Nursing Council Act of 1947 and ruled that the educational qualification obtained from one state cannot be confined to that state only for work purposes. Under the Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution, nurses have the right to practice their profession anywhere in the country, said the apex court.