Karnataka High Court: Medicos Cannot Challenge Bond Service After Subsidies Education

In a major legal precedent regarding medical education, the Karnataka High Court has firmly ruled that MBBS students cannot challenge compulsory service bonds after completing their degrees at a subsidized cost.

The Core Dispute

The case involved a group of MBBS graduates from ESIC Medical College, Bengaluru (2012-13 batch), who had signed a bond at the time of admission agreeing to serve in ESIC hospitals for five years or pay a penalty of ₹7.5 lakh. After completing their 4.5-year course and 1-year internship, the college withheld their KMC registration certificates, demanding they fulfill the service bond.

The students challenged this, arguing that the bond violated their constitutional right to practice a profession of choice (Article 19) and equated compulsory service to “bonded labor” (Article 23). A single-judge bench initially ruled in favor of the students, but the Division Bench of the High Court has now completely overturned that decision.

The High Court’s Stance: It is Not Forced Labor

The High Court explicitly stated that an agreement to serve a minimum period in exchange for subsidized medical education cannot be classified as human trafficking, forced labor, or exploitation. The bench noted that just as students take out education loans and are expected to repay them, executing a service bond is an integral part of the consideration for receiving heavily subsidized training.

The Court highlighted that there is no absolute “compulsion” to serve, as students always have the legal option to pay the agreed-upon penalty amount to break the bond.

ESIC Reduces Bond to One Year

During the legal proceedings, ESIC issued a memorandum reducing the compulsory service period from five years down to just one year, and capping the default penalty at ₹5 lakh. The High Court validated this revised one-year bond, ordering the petitioners who wish to avoid the posting to immediately pay the ₹5 lakh penalty with interest.