Allahabad High Court Grants Bond Relief To Five Doctors With Service Conditions

The Allahabad High Court has granted relief from service bonds to five doctors but directed them to complete additional service in government hospitals before securing their release.

The five doctors enrolled in postgraduate courses during 2018-19 at King George’s Medical University, Lucknow, except one, who pursued postgraduate studies at Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences.

At the time of admission, they signed bonds requiring them to serve the state for two years after completing their courses.

A government order dated March 7, 2018, provided an exemption from the bond if a candidate was subsequently selected for a super-speciality course.

After completing their postgraduate courses and serving for some time, all five doctors secured admission to super-speciality diploma courses and sought exemption from their bonds.

However, authorities rejected their applications on March 23, 2026, citing a revised government order dated January 5, 2022.

The revised order limited the higher-education exemption to MD/MS courses and excluded diploma courses.

The doctors argued that the government order applicable when they signed the bonds should govern their obligations and that a later order could not operate retrospectively against them.

On September 9, 2026, the court asked the doctors to continue serving for six months to one year.

Kavita Yadav and Neeraj Gautam agreed to serve six months, Prerna Prabhat Das and Kanika Bansal nine months, while Yatendra Kumar agreed to serve three more months.

Justice Saurabh Shyam Shamshery directed all five doctors to report to their former institutions on November 2 and complete the specified service before receiving bond relief.

Also Read: MC Chagla Memorial Lecture Explores Link Between Human Rights & Sustainable Development