JUDGMENT :

Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud, J.

The respondent -Employees State Insurance Corporation¹['ESIC/ respondent-institute'] - is a statutory body created under the Employees State Insurance Act 1948²['Act of 1948']. Act 18 of 2010 inserted Section 59(B) in the Act of 1948 which stipulates that the Corporation may establish medical colleges, nursing colleges, and training institutions for its employees to improving the quality of services provided under the Employees State Insurance cheme. The petitioners are junior residents who have completed their undergraduate medical course at medical institutions run by the ESIC. Undergraduate medical students pursuing their education in institutions conducted by the ESIC have to serve in the institutions as junior residents. The petitioners were required to serve a five year bond as junior residents.

2. The respondent-institutions recruit Insurance Medical Officers Grade-II³['IMO-II'] through a written examination followed by an interview. ESIC provides a fifty per cent reservation for 'in-service' doctors in the post-graduate seats available in medical institutions run by ESIC. While the post of IMO-II is included within the ambit of 'in-serv