PG admissions: High Court allows medical students with no rural stint

From 2008, medical students in Maharashtra are required to compulsorily serve a one-year internship in a state-run, civic or military hospital after completing their Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) course or pay a sum of ₹10 lakh if they fail to do so.

In a major relief to 45 medical students, the Bombay high court on Tuesday allowed them to appear for the counselling round of admissions to postgraduate medical courses in Maharashtra, despite not serving their one-year internship bonds.

The petitioners had challenged the validity of the government resolution of October 12, 2017, that makes it mandatory for medical students to serve the bond before seeking admission to postgraduate medical courses in the state. (HT File)

The division bench of justices SC Dharmadhikari and MS Karnik passed the order on a representative petition filed by three students — Digvijay Patil, Dipali Patil and Pratik Surushe. The petitioners had challenged the validity of the government resolution of October 12, 2017, that makes it mandatory for medical students to serve the bond before seeking admission to postgraduate medical courses in the state.

From 2008, medical students in Maharashtra are required to compulsorily serve a one-year internship in a state-run, civic or military hospital after completing their Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) course or pay a sum of ₹10 lakh if they fail to do so.

Advocate VM Thorat, on behalf of the petitioners, argued that when the petitioners were admitted for the MBBS course (2012-13 and 2013-14), the rules allowed them to serve the one-year internship after completing the postgraduate course. But the GR of October 2017 did not allow them to sit for admissions to postgraduate courses.

He also stated that though the GR was issued in October 2017, the mandatory condition was relaxed for students seeking admission to postgraduate medical courses in 2018-19, and was made applicable from the academic year 2019-20. The bench accepted arguments and allowed the petitioners to participate in the admission process for the academic year 2019-20. It has posted the petition for further hearing on April 24.