100% Women Reservation In Nursing Colleges Challenged In Madhya Pradesh Court

A recruitment drive by the Madhya Pradesh government for nursing colleges, which reserves 100 per cent of 286 academic posts exclusively for women, has been challenged before the state High Court.

The petition, filed before the Jabalpur bench, alleges that the move unconstitutionally excludes male candidates and violates Supreme Court rulings on reservation limits and constitutional rights.

The recruitment notification, issued by the Madhya Pradesh Staff Selection Board for its Group-1, Sub-Group-2 Combined Recruitment Examination 2025, provides complete reservation for women for all posts of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor and Sister Tutor in government nursing colleges.

A total of 286 posts include 40 Associate Professors, 28 Assistant Professors and 218 Sister Tutors. No vacancies were earmarked for male candidates.

The petition, filed by Naushad Ali and others from Jabalpur, argues that the recruitment process violates Articles 14, 15 and 16 of the Constitution, which guarantee equality before the law and prohibit discrimination on grounds of sex.

Advocate Vishal Baghel, appearing for the petitioners, submitted that neither the recruitment rules nor the guidelines of the Indian Nursing Council (INC) permit gender-based exclusion for teaching posts.

He also argued that 100 per cent reservation breaches the 50 per cent ceiling laid down by the Supreme Court in the landmark Indra Sawhney judgment, making the notification legally untenable.

During the hearing on December 29, the High Court sought a response from the state government and noted that the last date for applications is January 7.

The petitioners informed the court that unless immediate relief is granted, male candidates would permanently lose the opportunity to apply, rendering the challenge infructuous.

Following this, the court directed the government to place its decision on record in writing within a day and fixed the matter for further hearing on January 7.

During the hearing, the Staff Selection Board informed the court that a decision had been taken to include male candidates in the recruitment process and that a final position would be clarified on January 7.

The case is being heard by Justice Vishal Dhagat of the High Court's Principal Bench.

The controversy comes against the backdrop of earlier NDTV ground reports that exposed serious irregularities in the functioning of nursing colleges across Madhya Pradesh.

The investigation revealed that several colleges were operating without proper campuses, infrastructure or faculty, with some institutions functioning out of just two or three rooms, while others existed only on paper, raising concerns about regulatory failure in health education.