Uttarakhand’s 2009 Policy Declared Unfair by Supreme Court
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled against the Uttarakhand government’s 2009 policy that mandated non-state MBBS students admitted under the 15% all-India quota (AIQ) to either serve in remote areas for five years or pay ₹30 lakh as compensation.
SC Questions Feasibility of Policy
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh questioned the practicality of enforcing such a policy on students from different states.
“How can a Tamil Nadu student admitted in an Uttarakhand medical college, primarily taught in English, effectively serve in remote areas of the state? Will they be able to communicate with patients and provide proper treatment?” the bench asked.
The court emphasized that while inter-state exchange of civil servants and professionals is a good idea, individual states cannot impose service mandates on AIQ students. Such a policy decision must come from the Union government, which has the authority to create a uniform national policy.
Mandatory Service or Steep Fees
Under Uttarakhand’s 2009 policy, AIQ students had to sign a bond of ₹30 lakh agreeing to work in rural areas post-graduation. If they opted out, they were required to pay an annual fee of ₹2.2 lakh, a sharp increase from the standard ₹15,000 fee.
With this ruling, the Supreme Court has reinforced the need for a centralized and uniform approach to rural service requirements for medical graduates.
