The Allahabad High Court has held that a doctor cannot avoid a compulsory government-service bond after receiving subsidised postgraduate medical education, but must receive the counselling opportunity promised by the governing policy.
The petitioner had moved outside her regular batch to pursue a post-doctoral course with official permission. The Court found that she was never included in the counselling conducted for later batches, leaving her without a structured opportunity to choose among available institutions.
Partly allowing the petition, the Court preserved the service obligation while directing the doctor to submit a fresh representation and requiring the medical-education directorate to identify vacancies and conduct counselling. The judgment separates enforcement of the bond from administrative fairness: the State may insist on service, but cannot deny the allocation procedure through which that service is ordinarily arranged.
