Relief for Doctor Forced to Leave Course Due to Father’s Death; Court Cites Humanitarian Grounds
Bhopal: In a significant ruling, the Jabalpur bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose (NSCB) Medical College, Jabalpur, to release the original documents of a doctor who left her postgraduate medical course midway due to personal circumstances — without demanding the ₹30 lakh seat-leaving bond penalty.
The interim relief was granted to Dr. Nisha Singh Rawat, a postgraduate microbiology student from Bhopal, who had to discontinue her course in the 2023-2024 academic session following the death of her father, in order to care for her mother.
Court Allows Release of Documents with No Objection Certificate
The bench, comprising Chief Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Vivek Jain, ruled:
“The respondent No.3 is directed to return the original documents along with No Objection Certificate to the petitioner on due acknowledgement, and the same shall remain subject to final outcome of the writ petition.”
Dr. Rawat now wishes to rejoin the medical field as a demonstrator in the Department of Community Medicine at Gandhi Medical College (GMC), Bhopal.
Counsel Challenges Relevance of Seat-Leaving Bonds
Senior Advocate Aditya Sanghi, representing Dr. Rawat, argued that the seat-leaving bond policy has become obsolete given the increase in PG medical seats and the trend of seats going unfilled. He contended that such bonds serve little purpose post-admission and are more relevant during counselling stages.
Growing Opposition to Seat-Leaving Bonds
This case comes amid broader calls for reform of punitive bond policies in medical education. In 2023, the National Medical Commission’s (NMC) Task Force on Mental Health recommended scrapping seat-leaving and rural service bonds, advocating instead for positive incentives and temporary bans (up to 24 months) on reapplying, as more constructive alternatives.
State Policy Shifts—But Only Prospectively
Though the Madhya Pradesh Government issued an order in June 2024 abolishing bond penalties for PG students leaving their courses, the order is only applicable to students admitted in 2024 and onward — leaving Dr. Rawat and others in previous batches in a legal limbo.
Court Shows Compassion in Similar Past Cases
In a recent case involving a doctor from Bundelkhand Medical College, who had to leave studies due to the Manipur violence, the MP High Court also directed the immediate release of documents — reflecting a trend of compassionate judicial intervention in such humanitarian cases.
The matter involving Dr. Rawat will now proceed for further hearing, though the interim relief has provided her the ability to resume her professional duties without being financially penalized.
