In the absence of vacancies in their respective specialities, Tamil Nadu’s Health Department had allowed 921 of nearly 1,150 non-service postgraduates (NSPG), who completed MD/MS in 2025, to leave without serving the compulsory bond period of two years. The remaining 120 to 150 NSPGs, who were posted to various government hospitals through “haphazard and delayed” counselling and are currently fulfilling the bond service requirements, are now demanding a reduction in the bond period from two years to one, seeking fair treatment in line with the decision to relieve over 80% of their batchmates.
A section of the aggrieved NSPGs, who are currently working in the government sector, said they completed their examination in October 2025, and the results were published in November 2025. The counselling to post them was delayed by one to four months, and was haphazardly held in small batches. “Up to April 2026, only 10% of our batch NSPGs were posted. As a result of the delay, some of the NSPGs waiting for counselling filed writ petitions seeking the return of original certificates. The court issued a direction to issue posting orders within a period of six weeks or else to release their original certificates,” a doctor said.
Following this, the Health Department, in an order issued on June 24, 2026, stated that in compliance with the court directions, the original certificates had to be returned to the petitioners, and as more than 1,000 NSPGs were waiting for bond postings for want of speciality vacancies, the Director of Medical Education (DME) and Research requested the government to permit it to return the original certificates of all NSPGs who had not been provided bond postings for more than six months from the date of course completion.
The government accorded permission to the DME to return the original certificates submitted during admission to the NSPG. They had to furnish an undertaking that they will serve the government for a period of not less than two years as and when they are called for the government on need basis. Doctors said around 80 petitioners received the certificates without submitting affidavits as per the court order leading to cancellation of their bond.
The doctors flagged the lack of uniformity in bond postings. “In our previous batches of 2020 and 2021, NSPGs were relieved after one year of bond service. In our case, 921 candidates were allowed to leave without fulfilling the bond requirements, while we are continuing in our bond postings. The Health Department should consider reducing our bond period from two years to one, considering November as the starting month,” another doctor said.
G.R. Ravindranath, general secretary of the Doctors’ Association for Social Equality told mediapersons on Monday that the compulsory bond service for all future batches of non-service postgraduate and super speciality medical students should be reduced to one year as there were no adequate vacancies. This should be specified in the admission prospectus.
Planning should be done in such a way that students across all batches should have similar bond periods, and there should be no discrimination between students belonging to different batches, he said. “Maternity leave should be granted to women NSPGs, and the period should be considered as service. They should be exempted from further bond period,” he said.
Published - October 27, 2026 12:28 am IST