HC tells State to probe why officials failed to secure bonds from doctors
BENGALURU, JANUARY 06, 2019 00:00 IST
They are to be taken from those who join PG courses under govt. quota
The High Court of Karnataka has directed the State government to conduct an inquiry for penalising or prosecuting culpable officials and persons responsible for not securing the undertaking/obligation bond as per the rules from the candidates who had secured postgraduate degree and diploma seats for medical and dental courses under the government quota.
Also, the court directed the government to conduct a probe against those who were responsible for illegally absolving candidates from the undertaking/obligation bond by accepting paltry amount of Rs. 1 lakh as penalty in lieu of joining the government service for a specified period as per the rules, when the rules prescribe levying of penalty ranging from Rs. 3 lakh to Rs. 50 lakh, depending on the year of signing the bond.
Besides, the court directed the government to either call all the doctors, who had joined PG degree or diploma courses after the Rule 15 of the Karnataka Conduct of Entrance Test for Selection and Admission to Postgraduate Medical and Dental Degree and Diploma Courses Rules came into force in December 2006, to join government service for the specified period, or collect legally prescribed penalty from them.
Justice Krishna S. Dixit issued the directions in his recent judgment on the petitions filed by Swamy Manjunath S.T. and several other physicians who had completed postgraduate degree or diploma courses in 2018 after joining the courses in 2015–16 under government quota seats after signing obligation bonds.
The Rule 15 states that candidates selecting PG degree and diploma seats under the government quota in government or private colleges will have to sign a bond giving an undertaking to serve for three years in government service on completion of the course. The candidates have to pay the prescribed penalty if they failed to join government service.
Notification questioned
The petitioners had questioned the September 28, 2018 notification issued by the Department of Medical Education asking them to attend counselling for deploying them for government service, in the posts of senior resident/tutor/specialist, as per their obligation bonds. The petitioners alleged that the government had not called those doctors who had completed courses in earlier years despite signing bonds; and claimed that the bonds were obtained through “coercion” at the time of admission, besides terming government’s rules as “bonded labour”.
The court, from the data given by the government, found that 5,348 candidates had joined medical and dental PG degree and diploma courses under the government quota between 2008–09 and 2017–18 after the Rule 15 came into force, and only 4,965 of them had submitted the obligation bonds.
“... only a small sum of Rs. 11.89 crore is stated to have been recovered as penalty, when prima facie it ought to have been several hundred crores of rupees ... This is a very serious matter warranting attention of the State government/the Comptroller and Auditor General of India/the Accountant General for the State,” the court observed in the order.
BENGALURU, JANUARY 06, 2019 00:00 IST
They are to be taken from those who join PG courses under govt. quota
The High Court of Karnataka has directed the State government to conduct an inquiry for penalising or prosecuting culpable officials and persons responsible for not securing the undertaking/obligation bond as per the rules from the candidates who had secured postgraduate degree and diploma seats for medical and dental courses under the government quota.
Also, the court directed the government to conduct a probe against those who were responsible for illegally absolving candidates from the undertaking/obligation bond by accepting paltry amount of Rs. 1 lakh as penalty in lieu of joining the government service for a specified period as per the rules, when the rules prescribe levying of penalty ranging from Rs. 3 lakh to Rs. 50 lakh, depending on the year of signing the bond.
Besides, the court directed the government to either call all the doctors, who had joined PG degree or diploma courses after the Rule 15 of the Karnataka Conduct of Entrance Test for Selection and Admission to Postgraduate Medical and Dental Degree and Diploma Courses Rules came into force in December 2006, to join government service for the specified period, or collect legally prescribed penalty from them.
Justice Krishna S. Dixit issued the directions in his recent judgment on the petitions filed by Swamy Manjunath S.T. and several other physicians who had completed postgraduate degree or diploma courses in 2018 after joining the courses in 2015–16 under government quota seats after signing obligation bonds.
The Rule 15 states that candidates selecting PG degree and diploma seats under the government quota in government or private colleges will have to sign a bond giving an undertaking to serve for three years in government service on completion of the course. The candidates have to pay the prescribed penalty if they failed to join government service.
Notification questioned
The petitioners had questioned the September 28, 2018 notification issued by the Department of Medical Education asking them to attend counselling for deploying them for government service, in the posts of senior resident/tutor/specialist, as per their obligation bonds. The petitioners alleged that the government had not called those doctors who had completed courses in earlier years despite signing bonds; and claimed that the bonds were obtained through “coercion” at the time of admission, besides terming government’s rules as “bonded labour”.
The court, from the data given by the government, found that 5,348 candidates had joined medical and dental PG degree and diploma courses under the government quota between 2008–09 and 2017–18 after the Rule 15 came into force, and only 4,965 of them had submitted the obligation bonds.
“... only a small sum of Rs. 11.89 crore is stated to have been recovered as penalty, when prima facie it ought to have been several hundred crores of rupees ... This is a very serious matter warranting attention of the State government/the Comptroller and Auditor General of India/the Accountant General for the State,” the court observed in the order.
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