The Uttarakhand High Court has refused to direct the state government to extend the contractual service of MBBS doctors who had completed their three-year bond period, observing that the state no longer faces a shortage of medical professionals.
A single bench of Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari was hearing a petition filed by doctors who had studied MBBS at government medical colleges on subsidised fees in exchange for a bond requiring them to serve the state for three years. The petitioners contended that while they had completed the bond period, they were willing to continue serving and sought an extension of their service contracts.
The state government, represented by standing counsel Chandrashekhar Rawat, argued that the bond system was introduced at a time when Uttarakhand was facing an acute shortage of doctors. Now, with regular recruitment underway and most vacant posts filled, there is no justification for continuing contractual appointments, the government said.
Accepting this position, the court noted that the bond system was designed only to meet emergency requirements of medical staff and could not be treated as a permanent mechanism for employment. “Since regular doctors are now available in adequate numbers, the state cannot be compelled to extend the contracts of bonded doctors,” the bench observed.
However, the court granted limited relief to the petitioners, permitting them to submit individual representations before the Director General of Health Services if they wished to continue working on a contractual basis. The DGHS has been directed to consider such representations and decide in accordance with law within three months.
