JANAKALYAN COLLEGE OF NURSING, RAMACHANDRAPUR, KENDRAPARA vs STATE OF ODISHA

IN THE HIGH COURT OF ORISSA AT CUTTACK


W.P.(C) No.34426 of 2026
CNR No. ODHC010797402026


( An application under Articles 226 & 227 of the Constitution of India )





….
Janakalyan College of Nursing,
District-Kendrapara representing
through its Chairman, Vaisnav Charan
Sahoo



Petitioner
-versus-
State of Odisha & Ors. …. Opp.Parties


Advocate(s) appeared in this case:-
For Petitioner : Mr. M.K. Khuntia, Advocate

For Opp.Parties : Mr. S.K. Jee, AGA
Mr. R.C.Mohanty, Advocate
(for O.P.2 and 3)



CORAM:
SHRI JUSTICE B. P. ROUTRAY
MISS JUSTICE SAVITRI RATHO


JUDGMENT
th
16 October 2026
B.P. Routray, J.
1. Heard Mr. Khuntia, learned counsel for the Petitioner,
Mr. Jee, learned AGA for the State-Opposite Party 1 and
Mr. Mohanty, learned counsel for Opposite Parties 2 and 3.
W.P.(C) No.34426 of 2026 Page 1 of 7

2. Considering the urgency of the matter, the same is taken up
for final disposal at the stage of admission on the request of all
parties.
3. The Petitioner– Institution is imparting B.Sc. Nursing course
and it has approached this Court for a direction to Opposite
Parties 2 and 3 for grant of renewal of No Objection Certification
(NOC) for conducting the B.Sc. Nursing course for the current
academic year in accordance with the prevailing statutes/ rules.
4. The background facts remain that the Petitioner– Institution
was earlier granted renewal of NOC for conducting such course
in previous academic years. But for the present academic year,
the Petitioner– Institution could not apply for renewal of NOC
due to some difficulty on his part. Earlier the last date for
th
admission to B.Sc. Nursing course was fixed to 30 September
st
2026 and thereafter, it has been extended to 31 October 2026. In
the meantime, some similarly situated institutions, who could not
apply for renewal of NOC in due time, approached this Court in
W.P.(C) No.7990 of 2026 and batch. This Court vide order dated
W.P.(C) No. 34426 of 2026 Page 2 of 7

th
13 August 2026 permitted those institutions to make application
for renewal of NOC with payment of extra amount of Rs.50,000/-
over and above the required fees. This Court had fixed timeline
th
up to 24 August 2026 for making the application by those
institutions as the last date. The relevant portion of the direction
th
of this Court dated 13 August 2026 is reproduced below:-
8. We make this order as a one-time measure. Accepting
the submission of Mr. Mohanty, learned counsel appearing
for the DMET, that other institutions similarly situated
may not take advantage of this order to approach the Court
and seek a similar order as fence-sitters, we made it clear
that hereafter, no further extension of time to apply for
renewal/grant of NOCs shall be granted on the ground of
equitable considerations.
XXX XXX XXX
10. We reiterate and highlight that this order is passed in
the context and facts of the present batch of cases, taking
into account the interest of students who are seeking
admission and the fact that the admission process is
continuing till 30th September, 2026. In any event, since
we are not deciding the matter on merits and on the
question of law, this order shall not have any precedential
value.
11. The Petitioners are directed to apply to the
authority(ies) by 24th August, 2026, peremptorily, failing
which no further extension shall be granted in any manner
W.P.(C) No. 34426 of 2026 Page 3 of 7

whatsoever. The authorities shall act upon production of
the website copy of this order. The Petitioners-Institutions
are also directed to file the hard copy along with
scanned/soft copies of all the documents before the
authority(ies) by the said date, along with the requisite
fees/fine and extra amount, as directed above, in the form
and manner (e.g. Demand Draft, IMPS, RTGS, NEFT,
etc.) that is usually accepted by the authority(ies).
5. It is submitted on behalf of the Petitioner that since the date of
admission into B.Sc. Nursing course has been now extended up to
st
31 October 2026, an extended opportunity may be granted to the
Petitioner as a last chance to make his application for renewal of
the NOC, in the light of the direction of this Court passed in earlier
writ petitions.
6. Mr. Mohanty, learned counsel appearing for Opposite Parties 2
and 3 submits on the contrary that the direction of this Court dated
th
13 August 2026 in earlier writ petitions was issued as a onetime
measure without the effect of precedence. He further submits that
if, at this stage present Petitioner is permitted to apply for renewal
of NOC, other similarly placed institutions may also come for
similar reliefs.
W.P.(C) No. 34426 of 2026 Page 4 of 7

7. It needs to be stated here that, an order passed by this Court in
similar matters cannot be ignored for issuance of similar directions
on the ground of parity. The Hon’ble Apex Court in State of
Odisha vs. Priyambada Pattanaik , SLP No.10598 of 2024,
th
decided on 9 September 2024, have stated that, “Although in the
aforesaid order, it is stated that this order passed is in the peculiar
facts and circumstances, however, it shall not be treated as a
precedent, but since we find the same set of facts and
circumstances arising out of the same State, the Special Leave
Petition is disposed of in the same terms and conditions.”
It is true that present Petitioner did not approach this
Court in time as the other institutions applied earlier. However, in
the meantime, there was a change of fact due to extension of date
of admission into B.Sc. Nursing course. Earlier the last date for
th
admission was fixed to 30 September 2026 and it has been now
st
extended to 31 October 2026, thereby giving opportunity and time
to apply for grant of renewal of NOC afresh in respect of the left
out institutions like present Petitioner.
W.P.(C) No. 34426 of 2026 Page 5 of 7

8. In the circumstances of the present case and keeping in view
th
the earlier order of this Court dated 13 August 2026 issued in the
previous batch cases, we do not see any reason to deprive the
Petitioner of the same benefit granted in respect of similarly
situated institutions. Thus, as per the principles of parity, we are
inclined to extend similar benefit in favour of the Petitioner.
9. At this stage, it is important to keep in mind the timeline as the
st
last date of admission into B.Sc. Nursing course is fixed to 31
October 2026. Keeping the same in view, i.e. the timeline for
admission into B.Sc. Nursing course, we permit present Petitioner
to make his application either through e-Portal or physically,
th
within a period of one day from today, i.e. on or before 17
October 2026 positively. We further highlight that the Petitioner is
to deposit additional amount of Rs.60,000/- (Rupees sixty thousand
only) over and above the required fees as he did not justify any
diligent attempt to apply before the last date fixed for the purpose.
th
The Petitioner has to apply on or before 17 October 2026,
peremptorily, failing which no further extension shall be granted to
him in any manner whatsoever. Upon receipt of the application
from the Petitioner, the authorities shall act upon in accordance
W.P.(C) No. 34426 of 2026 Page 6 of 7

with law, and take a decision thereof as soon as possible,
th
preferably on or before 27 October 2026.
10. With aforesaid observations and directions, the writ petition is
disposed of.

(B.P. Routray)
Judge


(Savitri Ratho)

Judge




Puspa, P.A.
Signature Not Verified
Digitally Signed
Signed by: PUSPANJALI MOHAPATRA
Designation: Personal Assistant
Reason: Authentication
Location: Orissa High Court
Date: 16-Oct-2026 18:24:20
W.P.(C) No. 34426 of 2026 Page 7 of 7