ORDER :

The question that arises for consideration in this Writ Petition is whether the petitioners herein can be compelled to undertake compulsory Government service for a period of one year basing upon a Bond executed by the petitioners at the time of their admission into Post Graduate Course in the year 2019 undertaking to serve the Government of Telangana for a period of one year after successful completion of their respective Post Graduate Courses and in case of failure to serve as such, to pay an amount of Rs.20,00,000/-(Rupees twenty lakh only) to the Government.

2. The facts of the case are that all the petitioners herein got admitted into Government Post Graduation Colleges for medical education and at the time of their admission into such Post Graduation Courses, at the instance of the respondents, they have executed a Bond undertaking to serve the State of Telangana for a period of one year after their successful completion of Post Graduation Course. They have also undertaken to pay an amount of Rs.20,00,000/- in the event of their failure to render such service to the State of Telangana.

These Bonds are executed in the year 2019 at the time of their admission into Post Graduation Courses. All the petitioners herein have completed their Post Graduation Course in the year 2022. The second respondent herein issued a notification, dated 18.08.2022 for conducting counselling for 2019 batch Post Graduates, who have completed their courses in the year 2022, for availing their compulsory Government service. Aggrieved by such notification, the petitioners approached this Court by filing the present Writ Petition.

3. Heard Mr. Tarun G. Reddy, learned counsel for the petitioners and Mr. A. Santosh Kumar, learned Special Government Pleader for the respondents representing the learned Advocate General.

4. Mr. Tarun G. Reddy, learned counsel for the petitioners, contended that the concept of rendering Government service after completion of Post Graduation Courses was for the first time introduced by virtue of an amendment to the Telangana Medical Practitioners Registration Act, 1968 (“the Act, 1968” for brevity) through the Telangana Medical Practitioners Registration (Amendment) Act, 2013 (“the Act, 2013” for brevity), wherein, rendering of rural medical service is made compulsory to enable them to get their names registered with the Telangana State Medical Council. Through the said Amendment Act, 2013, certain provisions such as Section 2(dd), Section 2(ii), Section 15(1), Section 15(aa) and Section 15B etc., were inserted in the year 2013 making it compulsory for Post Graduation students to render rural medical service in order to make them eligible for registering their names with the Telangana State Medical Council. It is the further submission of learned counsel for the petitioners that the said amendments that were brought into existence making the rural medical service a compulsory pre-requisite for registration under the Act, 1968 was dispensed with by making amendments to the Act, 1968 through the Telangana Medical Council Amendment Act, 2018 (“the Amendment Act, 2018” for brevity) w.e.f. 30.06.2018. Thus, by placing reliance on the said Amendment Act, 2018, wherein the requirement of rendering a rural medical service was made compulsory for eligibility for registration with the Telangana State Medical Council under the Act, 1968 was dispensed with, the learned counsel contended that the action of the respondents in insisting to serve the State of Telangana and issuing a notification for conducting counselling for that purpose is illegal and without any authority. He also further contended that the requirement of rendering rural medical service is an occupied field under the provisions of the Act, 1968 as amended by the Act, 2013, which was given a goby in the year 2018 by virtue of the Amendment Act, 2018 and hence, any action on the part of the respondents in requiring the petitioners to serve the State of Telangana for a