In Rinkoo Kumari & Ors vs. The State of Bihar Through the Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Health, Government of Bihar & Ors (2026), High Court's Division Bench of Chief Justice Sangam Kumar Sahoo and Justice Harish Kumar delivered 20-page long judgement dated February 26, 2026, Over 240 candidates had approached the High Court through separate petitions which were heard together. This writ petition has been filed by Rinkoo Kumari and others had prayed for (i) Declaring Rule 2(viii) and Rule 6 of the Bihar Nursing Cadre Rules, 2024, being ultra vires Article 14. 16 and 19 (1)(g) of the Constitution of India as also the Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947, by which, without there being any such requirement for candidates passing the General Nursing and Midwifery Course(GNM) Course from institutes in the State of Bihar, it has, inter alia, been prescribed that for appointment on the post of Nurse, in case the Institute of Nursing is located outside the State of Bihar, from where the General Nursing and Midwifery Course(GNM) is undertaken by the candidates, a certificate of suitability/recognition from Indian Nursing Council, New Delhi will be mandatory and it has further been provided that it shall also be mandatory for the candidates to be registered with the Bihar Nursing Registration Council.
The petitioners had prayed to hold and declare that the impugned rules are discriminatory as it discriminated with candidates who had passed the GNM course from a registered institutes outside the State of Bihar and those who had passed the course from institutes located within the State of Bihar. They had prayed for quashing the impugned Press Release dated April 17, 2025 issued by the Bihar Nursing Registration Council, by which it was directed that the registration of all such candidates, who have undertaken GNM Course from institutes which does not possess the Suitability Certificate issued by the Indian Nursing Council was cancelled and they were advised to get registration from the respective States Council. The petitioners prayed for issuance of a writ of mandamus, directing the respondent Bihar Nursing Registration Council to register the petitioners who had undertaken the GNM Course from institutes falling within their respective State Council and to quash the impugned advertisement advertisement no. 23/2025, by which online applications were invited for appointment on 11389 posts of GNM and a qualification as prescribed by the impugned Bihar Nursing Cadre Rules, 2024 was required to be fulfilled for applying on the post of Nurse.
The other four respondents were: Bihar Nurses Registration Counsel, through its Registrar, Director General (Nursing) cum Chairman, Bihar Nurses Registration Counsel, Bihar Technical Service Commission, through its Secretary, and Indian Nursing Council represented by its Secretary.
The judgement referred to Advocate General's submission wherein he had produced a notification issued by the Health Department, Government of Bihar dated February 25, 2026. The notification indicated that, in exercise of the powers conferred under the proviso to Article 309 of the Constitution of India, the Governor of Bihar has made certain amendments to the Bihar Nursing Cadre Rules, 2024. The amended rules are the “Bihar Nursing Cadre (Amendment) Rules, 2026”. By virtue of the amendment, Rule 2(viii) of the Bihar Nursing Cadre Rules, 2024 was substituted, and a revised definition of “recognized institution” was provided. Similarly, Rule 6 of the Bihar Nursing Cadre Rules, 2024 was also substituted. The notification was taken on record.
Chief Justice Sahoo who authored the judgement concluded: "5. In view of the aforesaid notification and the amendments brought into force, the issues raised in the present writ petition no longer survive for adjudication. Accordingly, the writ petition has become infructuous and is disposed of. 6. Since similar prayers have been made in the connected writ petitions, namely C.W.J.C. No. 10101 of 2025, C.W.J.C. No. 4241 of 2025, C.W.J.C. No. 8190 of 2025, C.W.J.C. No. 8299 of 2025, C.W.J.C. No. 8505 of 2025, and C.W.J.C. No. 632 of 2026, the said writ petitions are also disposed of in terms of the present order."
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