HC declines to review its order on nurses appointment

Madras High Court has declined to review its January 8 judgment upholding the state government's policy to recruit nursing students from both government and private nursing institutions through a competitive examination for available posts in government hospitals.
It said the power of judicial review was about rehearing the matter afresh, and added that it should be exercised with extreme care and caution.
"Only in exceptional circumstances, can it be done and the review is also not an appeal in disguise," a division bench of Justice N Paul Vasanthakumar and Justice M Sathyanarayanan said rejecting the plea of a batch of nursing candidates.

"It is trite law that this court in exercise of judicial review cannot interfere in the matter of appointment unless its action or inaction is found to be wholly arbitrary," the bench said.
For several decades, recruitment of nurses for government medical facilities was being done only from among those who pass out of government-run nursing institutions, as per Madras Medical Code.
In February 2011, weeks ahead of the Assembly elections, the then government had initiated steps to recruit 1,861 nurses for government hospitals and public health centres. However, by the time they completed the first batch of 969 candidates, and started certificate verification for the remaining 892 candidates, polls were notified.

After the new government assumed power, it issued an order on January 18, 2012 stating that for all vacant posts of nurses in all government medical institutions, trained nurses both in government institutions and government approved private nursing schools would be considered.

It said recruitment, on the basis of a competitive examination, would be done by the Medical Services Recruitment Board.
Aggrieved by the order, trained nurses who could not be recruited due to the intervention of assembly polls in 2011, moved the court assailing the revised policy.
Though a judge allowed their petitions, in January this year a division bench upheld the new policy of the government.

Last week, a group of 41 nursing candidates created a ruckus in the high court campus by threatening to commit suicide from the sixth floor of the building. They were brought down after hectic parleys by advocates, police and fire service personnel.