Delhi High Court directs Centre to decide on setting up National Nursing and Midwifery Commission

A statutory promise unfulfilled: Court nudges government on nursing regulatory body

The Delhi High Court has directed the Union government to decide within two months a representation by the Indian Professional Nurses Association (IPNA) regarding the constitution of the National Nursing and Midwifery Commission (NNMC). The order came in a writ petition that sought a mandamus to establish the NNMC under the National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Act, 2023, which remains unimplemented despite its enactment.

The case background: A regulatory vacuum

The NNMC Act was enacted to replace the Indian Nursing Council and create a modern regulatory framework for nursing and midwifery education, training, and professional practice. After the Act and its rules came into force in early 2024, the government invited applications for the positions of members and office-bearers of the NNMC on March 14, 2024. However, despite the passage of over two years, the commission was not constituted. The IPNA, a non-governmental organisation dedicated to the welfare and professional advancement of nurses, moved the court seeking directions to expedite the process.

Arguing discrimination and constitutional violations

The petitioner contended that the delay in constituting the NNMC was arbitrary and discriminatory . It highlighted that similar commissions for other healthcare professionals—the National Dental Commission , National Medical Commission , National Commission for Indian System of Medicine , and National Commission for Homoeopathy —had been established. The exclusion of the nursing profession, which constitutes over 70% of the healthcare workforce, was argued to violate Articles 14 ( right to equality ) and 21 ( right to life ) of the Constitution. The petitioner stated, "Selective exclusion of Nursing Profession, which constitutes over 70% of the healthcare workforce, is arbitrary, discriminatory and violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India ."

Court’s observation and direction

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma noted that the continued non-constitution of the NNMC was evident from the government's own RTI response dated July 7, 2026 , which categorically confirmed that no appointments to the NNMC had been made till date. The court observed, "The continued non-constitution of the NNMC is further borne out from the Government’s RTI response dated 07.07.2026, wherein it has categorically confirmed that no appointments to the NNMC have been made till date."

Rather than issuing a writ of mandamus at this stage, the court directed that the petition be treated as a representation on behalf of the petitioner. The respondents were ordered to decide the representation within a period of two months from the date of the order and to communicate the decision to the petitioner.

Order and future steps

The court disposed of the petition with the direction that the respondents decide the representation within two months and inform the petitioner. It added that if the petitioner still had any grievance after the decision, it could approach the court again by filing a fresh petition. The order reinforced the principle that statutory bodies must be constituted within a reasonable time to fulfill legislative intent and avoid prejudice to the profession they are meant to regulate.