Coming down heavily on a private nursing association for attempting to use the court for its "vested interests", the Madras High Court has hit the association with costs of Rs 25,000.
"We have no hesitation to say that the so-called PIL is nothing but a private and business interest litigation," a division bench comprising justices Elipe Dharma Rao and D Hariparanthaman said and directed Association of Recognised Private Nursing Schools and Colleges to pay the amount to School of Health Services, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) at New Delhi.
The association had sought to bar the Tamil Nadu government's Health and Family Welfare Department from allowing the School of Health Services from conducting the post-basic BSc Nursing course in the study centre in Tamil Nadu without the recognition of the Tamil Nadu government and Tamil Nadu Nurses and Midwife Council.
The Bench pointed out that despite the fact that the Indian Nursing Council had recognised the study centre of IGNOU in the State, the association had filed the petition.
Hence the writ petition was liable to be dismissed with costs, the Judges said.