Members of the Junior Doctors’ Association Joint Action Committee (JUDA-JAC) filed a writ petition in the High Court on Thursday, challenging the state government’s decision to make it mandatory for all medical students (non-service doctors) after completion of their medical course to serve in the government in rural and tribal areas at least for a year.
The JUDA-JAC, represented by its president Dr Aditya Vikram Kabra and secretary Dr Phani Mahesh Reddy, submitted that the conditions imposed by the state government were not stipulated by the Medical Council of India (MCI). The state had, in its order issued in February 2010, categorically said that no student shall be exempted from the compulsory government service and that students have to sign a bond to serve in rural/tribal areas for a period of one year before joining the course itself. A penalty of Rs 15 lakh on diploma students and Rs 20 lakh on post-graduate students shall be imposed for breaking the bond. Thousands of students signed the bonds under coercion.