JUDGMENT :

(Prayers in WP No. 4300 of 2024: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying to issue a Writ of Mandamus direction of a like nature to the respondent no.1 to 6 to treat the petitioner's two-year compulsory bond period as completed in line with the service rendered during the Covid-19 period and to consequently relieve the petitioner from her bonded service in the 6th respondent hospital and also to direct the 1st and 5th respondent to return the petitioner's original certificates and documents collected by the 1st and 5th respondent while admitting the petitioner to the Post Graduate degree course along with her Post Graduate degree certificate within a time frame to be fixed by this Court.

In WP No. 4325 of 2024: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying to issue a Writ of Mandamus direction of a like nature to the respondent no.1 to 6 to treat the petitioner's two-year compulsory bond period as completed in line with the service rendered during the Covid-19 period and to consequently relieve the petitioner from her bonded service in the 6th respondent hospital and also to direct the 1st and 5th respondent to return the petitioner's original certificates and documents collected by the 1st and 5th respondent while admitting the petitioner to the Post Graduate degree course along with her Post Graduate degree certificate within a time frame to be fixed by this Court.

In WP No. 4347 of 2024: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying to issue a Writ of Mandamus direction of a like nature to the respondent no.1 to 6 to treat the petitioner's two-year compulsory bond period as completed in line with the service rendered during the Covid-19 period and to consequently relieve the petitioner from her bonded service in the 6th respondent hospital and also to direct the 1st and 5th respondent to return the petitioner's original certificates and documents collected by the 1st and 5th respondent while admitting the petitioner to the Post Graduate degree course along with her Post Graduate degree certificate within a time frame to be fixed by this Court.)

1. Mr.K.Tippu Sultan, learned Government Advocate accepts notice for the respondents and is armed with instructions to enable final disposal of these matters, even at this juncture. Hence, by consent of both learned counsel, these Writ Petitions are taken up for final disposal, even at the stage of admission.

2. I have considered an identical prayer as in the present Writ Petitions in W.P.No.28238 of 2023 and have held as follows:

"The petitioner is a Doctor, who had completed Post Graduation in General Medicine from KAP Viswanathan Medical College in the non service category. He had completed the course in May, 2022 and had, at the time of admission to the course, executed a bond for a sum of Rs.40 lakhs undertaking that he would serve the State for a period of two years after completion of the course. The bond period, admittedly, runs till 31.05.2024.

2. Within a few months of commencing the course, the Covid 19 pandemic had struck and the petitioner, and, in fact several other identically/similarly placed candidates, were required to be on covid duty in R5 Hospital. Though no appointment orders could be issued seeing as the petitioner was a student then, his services during the covid period is not disputed as duty sheets for the service rendered have duly been produced by the petitioner and verified by the respondent counsel.

3. The question as to whether covid duty would constitute in-bond service is no longer res integra having been considered and accepted by two learned Judges in W.P.No.26556 of 2022 (decision dated 02.02.2023) and W.P.No.22894 of 2023 (decision dated 08.09.2023). In these cases, the petitioners were students who were required to perform covid duty during their course and this Court has held, and I concur with these decisions, that the covid duty rendered by the stude