FIT IN CONSULTANTS

: In a big relief to MBBS students studying in private colleges, the Supreme Court on Friday said the private medical colleges cannot force the students to sign bonds for serving the alma mater as resident doctors after graduation and extract huge amounts from them for breaching the imposed condition.

A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice Hima Kohli gave this ruling while dismissing an appeal filed by R D Gardi Medical college, Ujjain, which was asked to return Rs 5 lakh bond amount with 8% annual interest to Anshul Jain as she had deposited the amount to work elsewhere after doing her post-graduation in anaesthesia from the private medical college in Madhya Pradesh.

CJI Chandrachud said it is futile to draw a comparison between government and private medical colleges on the issue of seeking bonds from students. “The fees charged by the private medical colleges are far too high compared to those levied by government colleges. The governments highly subsidise the fees of medical students, hence it was understandable why the government medical colleges seek a bond,” said CJI Chandrachud.