Bonded service obligations for medical graduates from self-financing colleges are declared illegal, ensuring no coercion in employment.

J U D G M E N T

Dated this the 29^th day of October, 2025 The petitioners successfully completed their M.D./M.S. Course at the Azeezia Institute of Medical Sciences & Research affiliated to the 7^th respondent in the year 2019-20. Upon successful completion of the M.D./M.S. Course, the Principal of the Institute issued orders directing the petitioners to serve the institution as Senior Residents. The Certificates and blank cheques given by the petitioners at the time of admission was withheld in order to coerce them into joining as Senior Residents. The writ petitions were filed at that stage.

2. Heard, Adv. Chithra P.George, learned Counsel for the petitioner, Adv. K.S.Prenjith Kumar for the National Medical Commission and Adv. P.G.Pramod, the learned Government Pleader appearing for the State.

3. Learned Counsel for the petitioners submitted that the original Certificates submitted by the petitioners while joining for M.D./M.S. Course were returned, and Course Certificate, Completion Certificate, Transfer Certificate, Conduct Certificate and Attempt Certificate were issued, pursuant to this Court’s direction. Therefore, what remains to be considered is the prayers for declaration of the bonded service as illegal and direction to return the blank signed cheques handed over at the time of admission. With respect to the first prayer, it is submitted that the issue is no longer res integra in view of the judgment in WP(C) No.1475 of 2023 rendered in the case of similarly placed persons who had completed M.D./M.S. Course from other private self financing institutions during 2019-20.

4. Having perused the judgment, I am in complete agreement with the findings therein. The contextually relevant paragraphs of the judgment in WP(C) No.1475 of 2023 reads as under;

“8. Pending the writ petition, the Government Pleader was directed to get specific instruction as to whether Ext.P5 would apply to students who were admitted to Self-Financing Colleges. An affidavit has been filed by the 1^st respondent on 18.10.2023, wherein it is specifically stated in paragraph No.3 of the affidavit that Ext.P5 applies only to students admitted to Government Medical Colleges in the State and the RCC. Reference is made to the prospectus, which was issued for the year 2023-2024, wherein it is stated that it would apply to students who were taking seats in the Self-Financing Medical Institutions also. Given the categoric admission by the 1^st respondent that Ext.P5 will not apply to Self- Financing Colleges, the only conclusion possible is that the demand in Exts.P1 and P2 is unwarranted. 9. The writ petition is hence allowed. It is declared that the conditions in Ext.P5 prospectus relating to bonded service will not bind students admitted to Self-Financing Colleges. Ext.P3 and similar bonds executed by the petitioners are unenforceable, and it is declared that the 2^nd respondent college has no power or authority to insist that the petitioners discharge the bonded obligations so created. There will be a direction to the 2^nd respondent college to return the certificates produced by the petitioners at the time of admission and the provisional certificates issued to them by the University within two weeks from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this judgment.”

In view of the declaration that the conditions in the prospectus relating to bonded service will not bind students admitted to Self-Financing Colleges during 2019-20, respondents 2 and 3 are bound to return the blank signed cheques handed over by the petitioners at the time of admission also.

The writ petitions are hence disposed of by making the interim direction absolute; declaring the bonded service as senior resident imposed on the petitioners to be illegal an