Karnataka High Court Issues Notice On Plea By Doctors Challenging One Year Compulsory Rural Service

The petition filed through Advocate Akkamahadevi Hiremath states that Petitioners are PG doctors of the batch of the academic year 2018-19 and 2019-20 from respondent colleges. Since they had no notice of the requirement to perform compulsory service under the KCS Act in the Information Bulletin/Brochure of 2018-19 and 2019-20 issued by the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC), they should be exempted from undergoing compulsory rural service, the petitioners argue.

The petitioners have relied on the High Court order dated30-03-2021 in the case of Dr Sadhwini M H, in which the court had held, "The students of the academic years 2016-17 and 2017-18 were not made aware of the implementations of the provisions of the instant Act and Rules and no bonds have been executed by the petitioners of the academic years 2016-17 and 2017-18. Therefore, the provisions of the instant Act and Rules shall not be made applicable to them."

It had added, "However, PG students/petitioners from the academic year 2018-19 onwards have been informed of the implementation of the Act and Rules, following which they have executed bonds undertaking to abide by solemn undertaking, therefore, the provisions of the Act and Rules shall be made applicable to them."

The plea states all Petitioners, barring a few, wrote the NEET PG 2018 entrance exam and scored ranks to become eligible for admission to various colleges affiliated deemed to be universities. They uploaded their options and choices of colleges based on the available information on Proforma of the individual colleges put up on the website of the 2^nd respondent Medical Counselling Committee, that conducts counselling for the admission to PG admissions to deemed to be universities.

The petitioners were then selected for admission under private/NRI/management quota to the respondent colleges. The proformas of the colleges were silent on KCS Act. It is said,"Petitioners went by the proforma of the colleges before deciding to get admitted. The proforma of the respondent colleges, put on the 2^nd respondent's website did not speak of any bond to be given under the Karnataka Compulsory Service Training by Candidates Completed Medical Course Act, 2012". Respondent colleges did not obtain any bond from respective Petitioners."

Further, it is claimed that, "The Petitioners completed their courses in July-August 2021 but were shocked to be told by their colleges that they have to serve for one year under KCS Act. The students were stumped as they had raised huge loans or spent huge sums of money with an eye on their career and till that point, they were not informed by any of the respondents that they were obliged to do one-year compulsory service under KCS Act."

The plea says, "On 21-08-2021, the State government issued a notification stating that the PG students of deemed universities were required to do one year compulsory service under the KCS Act. However, since the petitioners herein as they were not informed either by the MCC or by the State Government before or at the time of taking admission, they are to be exempted from compulsory rural service."

The court while clubbing the matter with similar cases pending directed the state government to seek instructions and file its statement of objections. The court will next hear the matter on February 22.

Case Title: Dr. Keerthi Kurnool v. Union of India

Case No: WP 23258/2021