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2026 Supreme(Online)(Mad) 36001
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
HEMANT CHANDANGOUDAR, J
Dr.R.Raji Leela – Appellant
Versus
The State of Tamil Nadu – Respondent
W.M.P(MD)No.7661 to 7663 & 7665 of 2026
For the Appellants/Petitioners: Mr.K.R.Laxman
For the Respondents:M/s M.Sneha for R1 and R2, Mr.N.Ramesh Arumugam Govt. Advocate for R3 and R4
Bond service period for postgraduate doctors reckoned from course completion date, not joining date.
Headnote:The petitioner, admitted to a postgraduate degree course, executed a bond to serve the government for two years post-completion. The impugned order directed service from the date of joining, challenged as arbitrary under Article 226. Court found the bond condition co-terminus with two years from course completion, relying on prior Division Bench ruling. Issue framed: Whether bond service period runs from joining or course completion. Ratio: Division Bench in W.A. No. 799 of 2019 held bond applicability ends two years from successful course completion, not extendable (paragraph 6). Writ petition partly allowed; impugned proceedings modified to reckon two-year period from October 2025 to October 2027.
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. challenges bond service from joining date. (Para 1 , 2) |
| 2. petitioner claims arbitrariness; respondents concede. (Para 3 , 4) |
| 3. bond period from course completion per precedent. (Para 5 , 6 , 7) |
| 4. petition partly allowed with modification. (Para 8) |
ORDER
The petitioner challenges the proceedings dated 02.02.2026 issued by the third respondent in R.No.1030512/ES/A4/2025-52, insofar as they direct the petitioner to serve for a minimum period of two years from the date of joining at the place of posting.
2. At the time of admission to the postgraduate degree course in Dermatology and Venereology, the petitioner had executed a bond undertaking to serve the Government of Tamil Nadu for a period of two years. The petitioner completed the postgraduate course in October 2025, and thereafter, the third respondent issued the impugned proceedings.
3. The contention of the petitioner is that the condition requiring him to serve for a minimum period of two years from the date of joining at the place of posting is arbitrary and discriminatory, since he is liable to serve only for a period of two years from the date of completion of the course. In support of the said contention, reliance is placed on the judgment of the Division Bench of this Court in W.A.
No. 799 of 2019 and connected batch, dated 06.10.2020.
4. Mrs. M. Sneha, learned counsel appearing for respondents 1 and 2, fairly submitted that the period of two years has to be reckoned from the date of completion of the course and, therefore, the impugned order may be suitably modified to that effect.
5. The submissions of the learned counsel appearing on either side have been duly considered.
6. The facts narrated above are not in dispute. In the impugned proceedings, the petitioner has been directed to serve for a period of two years from the date of joining at the place of posting. However, the Division Bench of this Court in W.A.No. 799 of 2019 and connected batch has categorically held that the applicability of the bond condition would be co-terminus with a period of two years from the date on which the candidate successfully completes the course, and would not extend beyond the same.
7. Therefore, the petitioner is liable to serve under the Government of Tamil Nadu only for a period of two years from the date of completion of the course. To that extent, the impugned proceedings require modification.
8. Accordingly, this writ petition is partly allowed, and the impugned proceedings dated 02.02.2026, insofar as they require the petitioner to serve for a minimum period of two years from the date of joining at the place of posting, are modified to the effect that the minimum period of two years shall be reckoned from the date of completion of the course, namely, from October 2025 to October 2027. No costs. Consequently, the connected miscellaneous petitions are closed.
