SC says ₹30 lakh bond for leaving govt medical seat ‘too much’, seeks NMC opinion
The issue was brought to the notice of the court through a petition filed by one Sheeba Rao, a junior resident doctor from Madhya Pradesh who had initially approached the state high court to consider reducing the bond amount from ₹30 lakh to ₹10 lakh
Asking a government medical college student paying a yearly fee of ₹124,000 to cough up ₹30 lakh as ‘seat leaving’ bond is “too much”, the Supreme Court observed while hearing a case last Friday.
“It is reasonable for having a higher bond amount to compensate for the loss of seat. But ₹30 lakh is too much,” a bench of justices Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and Hima Kohli said, seeking the view of the National Medical Commission (NMC) on the issue.
The apex court posted the matter for next hearing on October 31.
The issue was brought to the notice of the court through a petition filed by one Sheeba Rao, a junior resident doctor from Madhya Pradesh who had initially approached the state high court to consider reducing the bond amount from ₹30 lakh to ₹10 lakh. The Jabalpur bench of the high court dismissed her plea on August 29, following which she moved the top court.
“We can ask her to pay ₹15 lakh. We will implead (make party) the NMC to understand what is the rationale behind this amount on the next date,” the SC said.
The petitioner had qualified the Neet-PG 2021 examination and was allotted a seat on May 1, 2022 in the stray vacancy counselling round at Shyam Shah Medical College, Rewa in the master of surgery (obstetrics and gynecology). She took the seat on May 7 but was not satisfied with the infrastructure of the college and the Rewa city where the college is situated.
At the time of joining, she signed a ‘seat leaving’ bond of ₹30 lakh and submitted her original certificates. Having conveyed to the college her decision to quit the seat, the Medical Education Department of the MP government and the dean of the Shyam Shah Medical College served her with a letter on July 4 refusing her permission to participate in the Neet-PG 2022 counselling and admission process without executing the bond.
Subsequently, she was unable to take part in the Neet-PG 2022 admission process because her certificates remained with the college.
Advocate Archana Pathak Dave who appeared for the petitioner told the court that the amount of ₹30 lakh was unreasonable and exorbitant when compared with other states. She pointed out that the amount of bond in other states was considerably low and some had fixed the amount at ₹10 lakh. The petitioner did not wish to continue with her admission at the Rewa medical college since she developed symptoms of anxiety and depression, she added.
It was further submitted that the yearly fee payable for MS (obstetrics and gynecology) is ₹124,000 and by no stretch of imagination can the seat leaving bond be fixed at ₹30 lakh. She stated that the petition also raised issue of lack of uniformity in fixation of bond amount by states.
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The NMC, represented by advocate Gaurav Sharma, told the SC that the order of the high court should not be interfered with as the petitioner’s action resulted in a prized seat at a government medical college ‘go waste’ for the entire academic session for this year and the subsequent year.
Sharma further said that private medical colleges charge a heavy premium as bond, and government seats, which are few, should not be allowed to go waste considering the fact that an eligible doctor was deprived from availing the seat on account of the petitioner’s action.
The high court in its judgment considered all aspects of the matter and ruled, “The bond has been filled by the petitioner which is reflected from seat leaving bond wherein the condition was clear that in case of petitioner obtained to leave despite execution of bond she is required to deposit ₹30 lakh.”
“The petition is bound by the seat leaving bond and is required to fulfill all the terms and conditions of the bond and then the original documents can be released to her... No illegality is committed by the authorities in issuing such a letter (July 4) to the petitioner,” it concluded.
