BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court has ruled that the provisions of the Karnataka Compulsory Service Training by Candidates Completed Medical Courses Act should not be made applicable to students of the academic years 2016-17 and 2017-18, as the Act and Rules came into force from 2018-19.
“This court finds that the students of the academic years 2016-17 and 2017-18 were not made aware of the implementation of the provisions of the Act and Rules and no bonds have been executed by the petitioners/students of those academic years. Therefore, the provisions of the Act and Rules should not be applicable to post-graduate students/petitioners who were admitted to the course during the academic years 2016-17 and 2017-18”, Justice R Devdas said in the order.
Disposing of the petitions filed by Dr M H Sadhwini and several others, the court said that information on compulsory service was not provided in the ‘Information Bulletins’ issued by the Karnataka Examinations Authority up to 2018-19 and no bonds were taken from the candidates.
The petitioners had moved the court to declare that the provisions of the Act and Rules are not binding on post-graduate degree and diploma holders who were admitted during the academic years 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19, after the government made the provisions of the Act applicable to them by issuing an order on July 23, 2020, calling upon those who would be graduating from various institutions to report to the Director of Medical Education after the exams, for posting.
On the contention of the students that the information on compulsory service was not provided in the ‘Information Bulletins’, the State Government argued that the ignorance of law cannot be an excuse. The court observed that there can be no doubt that ignorance of law is no excuse, but in the present context, students from across the country and, in fact, from overseas seek admission to medical courses/post graduate courses/super speciality courses in various institutions across the country and may not have knowledge of local laws. Hence, the government has to provide such information to the candidates, the court suggested.
Bar Council suspends advocate from practice
The Karnataka State Bar Council (KSBC) suspended the practice of advocate R Manjunath from the city, for allegedly making baseless allegations against the KSBC on social media. According to the notification issued by the Bar Council on April 2, 2021, Manjunath has allegedly caused damage to the credibility of the Bar Council by making baseless and derogatory statements over Welfare Stamps through social media and same amounts to a serious misconduct.
Therefore, the Council in a meeting, presided by Chairman L Srinivasa Babu, unanimously resolved to initiate suo moto action and issue notice to Manjunath, calling upon him to explain within 10 days from the date of receipt of this notice why his name should not be removed from the rolls of the Bar Council. The Council further resolved to suspend him from practice with immediate effect pending enquiry, and to intimate the courts in the state and Bar Association of Bangalore, where he is practising.