Compulsory Rural Service : Karnataka High Court Issues Notice On MBBS Graduates' Plea Against Govt Notification

The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday issued notice to the State Government and other respondents on a batch of petitions filed challenging the notification dated June 8, issued by the government directing those undergraduates who have secured government seats and completed their MBBS exams in academic year 2021 to register online for the Compulsory Rural Service under provisions of the Karnataka Compulsory Service to Candidates Completed Medical Courses Act 2012 (Compulsory Act). A single benhc of Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum issued the notice and posted the matter for further hearing on Thursday. One of the petitions is filed by Dr Prathana N through advocates Manik B T of Thiru and Thiru Chambers. In the petition it is contended that in the case of Bushree Anital Aleem the validity of the said law came to be upheld. However, it was declared that it would be applicable prospectively and not retrospectively to students who secured admission after 24.07.2015. Further, in 2019, the National Medical Commission Act has come into force and thus there is a paradigm shift that took place in medical education and the state governments have lost their rights in regulating medical college admissions. It is submitted that the notification dated June 6, stems out of the compulsory act which is a nonest law in light of the NMC Act. Senior Advocate K G Raghvan appearing for another petitioner submitted before the court that "Having regard to the content of the National Medical Commission Act the provisions of 2012 act (Karnataka Compulsory Service Training by Candidates Completed Medical Courses Act, 2012 and Rules of 2015) is repugnant to the 2019 Act. If the 2012 Act is inoperative then the notification dated June 8, also goes." He added that "Before the 2019 Act, medical education had become fragmented, each state was doing whatever it wanted. The medical council was afflicted by political interference. What suffered was medical education and infrastructure, it is to take care, this national law is made by the Parliament to ensure there is uniformity in all states." Advocate N Ketty appearing for the NMC informed the court that there have been orders passed earlier by different benches of the high court in which the Act has been upheld, similarly, certain categories of students who have completed their course till academic years 2017-18 have been discharged from doing the compulsory service on grounds that they were not informed about the compulsory service clause, by the colleges. He submitted that he would place on record the previous orders for the perusal of the court and assist the court on the same. The court allowed his request and posted the matter for further hearing on Thursday.

Compulsory Rural Service : Karnataka High Court Issues Notice On MBBS Graduates' Plea Against Govt Notification

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