HC comes to rescue of Doctor who quit MS Gynaecology seat over ragging, harassment, DME ordered to return withheld documents
Madhya Pradesh High Court
Indore: Granting interim relief to a postgraduate medical student who had left his course midway after alleged 'ragging, nepotism and favouritism', the Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed the Director of Medical Education to return his original documents, failing which, further contempt proceedings may follow.
Notably, the court had passed its order in the matter earlier on February 19, 2026, directing the management of the state government-run Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College (known as MGM college), Indore and DME to return all original documents to the applicant; however, the authorities failed to comply with the direction.
Single Bench Judge Jai Kumar Pillai observed that the candidate could not be harassed and put to hardship on account of a simple technicality when the documents were admittedly in the authorities' possession.
"It goes without saying that the original documents are in possession with the respondent No.2 i.e. Director, Medical Education. The respondent No.2 was required to return the original documents and when he was aware that the original documents are in his possession and due to simple technicalities, the petitioner could not have been harassed and put to hardship by filing the present contempt petition," the court said.
The direction came while the Bench was hearing a contempt plea filed by an MBBS graduate from the Scheduled Tribe category. The doctor had appeared in NEET-PG 2020 and secured an All India Rank of 79,171.
He completed his MBBS degree from MGM college in 2019 and was then allotted the seat of PG MS Gynaecology as per his merit by DME, reports IANS.
However, he vacated the seat without completing his PG, alleging extensive ragging along with claims of nepotism and favouritism, due to which he became mentally distressed and developed serious disorders and tried to commit suicide, according to the petition he had filed through senior advocate Aditya Sanghi.
Live Law reported that after he discontinued the programme, the college reportedly withheld his original documents and demanded Rs 30 lakh under the State quota bond policy for leaving the seat, but he expressed his inability to pay the amount since he came from a tribal community.
The concept of seat leaving bond, a common practice especially for medical students for PG courses, is to address the issue of seat blocking and the wastage of medical seats. The rule mandated that students who wish to leave their course mid-way have to pay Rs 30 lakh as a ‘seat leaving bond’, reports IANS.
Challenging the action, the counsel for the petitioner argued that the high bond amount was unjustified, particularly when several postgraduate seats remain vacant. He also pointed to discussions in the Lok Sabha on February 9, 2024, where the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare stated that the National Medical Commission had advised states to review stringent bond policies.
The plea further stated that the doctor had meanwhile applied for the post of Medical Officer pursuant to an advertisement issued on August 8, 2024 by the MP Public Service Commission. He received an acknowledgement on January 20, 2026, and was scheduled to appear for an interview on March 5, 2026. As per the recruitment notice, submission of original documents was mandatory by February 23, 2026, making their return crucial for his candidature.
During the hearing, the counsel appearing for the petitioner submitted that the court’s earlier order dated February 19, 2026, had not been complied with. In that order, the Court had directed the respondents to return the original documents of the petitioner.
However, the Court noted that the earlier order mentioned that the authorities should return the documents. It was observed that the original documents were actually in the possession of the Director of Medical Education.
The Court said that since the Director was aware that the documents were in his custody, the petitioner should not have been made to suffer due to "simple technicalities" or forced to file a contempt petition.
Considering the plea, the Court directed the authorities to return the original documents to the petitioner by March 2, 2026, to avoid further contempt action.
The matter has been listed for further hearing in the week commencing March 9, 2026.
"It’s a big relief for Dr *** because without original documents, he cannot join any service and earn his livelihood, although he did his MBBS way back in 2019. Seat leaving bond issue was even discussed in parliament, and it was directed to all states to review the bond policy, but few states, including Madhya Pradesh, are continuing," advocate Aditya Sanghi told IANS.
To view the court order, click on the link below:
