Doctors who get educated at the expense of the poor cannot shy away from serving them: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has come down heavily upon the trend of students securing admission in postgraduate medical courses in government colleges by readily signing bonds to serve in public hospitals for two years after their studies, but subsequently making an attempt to wriggle out of this obligation. Dismissing writ petitions filed by two doctors against their bond period, he said, “Such an attitude was opposed to public interest and unacceptable.”0 “The prime object of medical profession is to render service to humanity. It is nothing but a service to humanity and to the poor sections of the society who are unable to get paid treatment.” He recorded the submission of Government Advocate K. Tippu Sulthan that those who gain admission in government medical colleges pay a paltry sum towards fees and it was the State that spent crores of rupees, from taxpayers’ money, to get the medical students educated. The law officer also said the government pays monthly stipend to every postgraduate medical student and therefore, they could not cite the services rendered by them during COVID-19 as a reason to seek exemption from serving in government hospitals after the completion of their studies.