CHENNAI: Holding that the postgraduate (PG) doctors after undergoing medical specialty courses, refusing to work in government hospitals are infringing the fundamental right of the poor and needy patients, which resulting in a shortage of doctors across the State, the Madras High Court refused to relieve doctors from bond service.
The approach of doctors refusing to work in government hospitals violating bond conditions cannot be appreciated, since the medical profession is a noble profession, wrote Justice SM Subramaniam while dismissing the writ petitions seeking to cancel the bond.
The government spending more than Rs.2 crore to train a Postgraduate student, wrote the judge, if such an attitude of the doctors if allowed, will encourage the attitude of not paying attention to those poor people at whose expense they have been educated, which is opposed to the public interest and unacceptable, read the judgment.
Further, the judge also expressed his displeasure that the government reducing the bond period from two years to one year, the services of the PG doctors are to be utilized to the optimum level for the welfare of the patients, read the judgment.
Petitioners S Shana Priyanka, Bayya A. Bharatji Babu, and K. Ambika moved the HC seeking to direct the State to relieve them from bond service and return all the original certificates.
The counsel for the petitioners submitted that they served during the COVID-19 pandemic period, which is also to be reckoned to calculate two years of service, and sought to cancel the bond service.
However, the judge refused the request and wrote that the petitioners have admittedly signed the bond by accepting the terms and conditions, hence they are not entitled to claim any concession for further reduction of the period stipulated under the bond conditions.
Therefore, the petitioners have to serve in government medical colleges and hospitals as per the bond conditions, read the judgment.