The Bombay high court has dismissed a petition of a government hospital nurse challenging levy of Rs 1 lakh penalty on her by the authorities for leaving a nursing course mid-way.
Usha Rathod, a nurse at Central Hospital in Ulhasnagar in Thane district, had obtained admission in P.B.Bsc Nursing course of two years duration but left after a few months on medical grounds. However, in accordance with the admission brochure, she was asked to pay Rs 1 lakh as a penalty.
Aggrieved, she filed a case in Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal for quashing the order, saying she was diagnosed with ‘Minimal Ascitis in RIF,’ as a result of which she could not pursue her studies.
According to Ms Rathod, after joining the course, she started suffering from pain in the abdomen and back since the last week of October 2012. As MAT did not give her relief, she moved the high court. She contended that in view of her condition, it had become very difficult for her to continue attending the course as she found it difficult to sit and study for a long period.
On January 21, 2013, the petitioner made a representation to Institute of Nursing Education and requested its principal to relieve her from the course. The institute, vide a letter dated January 28, 2013, relieved Ms Rathod and allowed her to join regular work as paediatric nurse at Central Hospital in Ulhasnagar. However, Ms Rathod was asked to pay Rs 1 lakh as per the conditions stipulated in the brochure published by the institute for the purpose of admission to the P.B.BSc Nursing course.
The court was of the view that she had violated the conditions of admissions by leaving the course midway, therefore she was not entitled to any relief.
“If she could discharge her duties as a staff nurse, there was no reason why she could not have continued her P.B.B.Sc Nursing Course. The petitioner was well aware of Clauses 9.4 and 9.5 when she sought admission to the course,” the bench said.
