BUSHRA ABDUL ALEEM Vs. GOVERNMENT OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Writ Petitioners in all these cases comprise of three classes of candidates viz., (i) those who were prosecuting Graduation (MBBS), (ii) some others who were doing Post-Graduation (MD/MS, etc.), and (iii) the rest who were pursuing Super-Specialty courses (DM, M.Ch. etc.); this apart a few medical colleges/institutions too are before this court; all they have knocked at the doors of Writ Court for assailing the Karnataka Compulsory Service Training by Candidates Completed Medical Courses Act, 2012 (hereafter 'the Principal Act') as amended by the Karnataka Act No.35 of 2017 (hereafter 'the Amendment Act'); the Government being the delegate under the principal Act has promulgated the Karnataka Compulsory Service Training by Candidates completed Medical Course Rules 2015 (hereafter '2015 Rules'), which too are under challenge.

(2.) The net effect of the impugned Act and the 2015 Rules is that, every MBBS Graduate after completion of internship course, every Post-Graduate (Diploma or Degree) candidate and every Super Specialty candidate shall render a compulsory public service of one year which is remunerative and with the designations as 'Junior Resident', 'Senior Resident' & 'Senior Specialist', respectively; during the service period, these candidates will have temporary registration for practising medicine.

(3.) The challenge is founded mainly on the grounds of legislative competence, discrimination, manifest arbitrariness, unworkability & proportionality, all falling under Article 14, unreasonable infringement of Fundamental Right to profession guaranteed under Article 19(1)(g), breach of bar of ex post facto penal law enacted in Article 20(1), intrusion of Right to Privacy in-built collectively inter alia in Articles 14, 19 & 21, prohibition of forced labour contained in Article 23, interference with Rights of Religious Minorities bestowed under Article 30, arbitrary penalty, excessive delegation and of prospective operation of the Act.