Medical and dental students in Karnataka must now furnish a bond in the form prescribed by the government to seek admission into postgraduate courses, committing them to pay Rs 10 lakh as a penalty if they leave the course before it is finished after the academic year's final admission date.

The seat-leaving bond penalty for students enrolled in postgraduate medical or dental diploma studies in Karnataka is Rs 4 lakh.

The Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) published the e-Information Bulletin for admission to Post-Graduate Medical / Dental Courses for the year 2025, which included the seat-leaving bond requirements for these programmes.

These rules outline the conditions for the forfeiture of seats chosen during counselling, in addition to the amount of the seat vacating bond penalty.

Key clauses include:

• If a candidate cancels a seat after the first round of allotment and before the second round, the processing fee is Rs 25,000. 

• If a candidate allotted a clinical degree seat in the second round fails to join by the final date, they must pay Rs 1.5 lakh (degree) or Rs 60,000 (diploma) and are barred from further rounds that year. 

• Cancelling after the second round but before the mop-up incurs a penalty of Rs 7 lakh (clinical degree) or Rs 3 lakh (clinical diploma). 

• Cancelling after the mop-up requires surrender in person to the Directorate of Medical Education & Training, Karnataka and carries a penalty of Rs 8 lakh (medical degree/diploma) or Rs 6 lakh (dental degree/diploma) plus forfeiture of fees paid.

Speciality-wise penalties are set as well; for pre-clinical seats (Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, Forensic Medicine), the cancellation charge is Rs 1 lakh along with forfeiting fees; for para-clinical seats (Pharmacology, Pathology, Microbiology, Community Medicine), the penalty is Rs 2 lakh (degree) or Rs 75,000 (diploma) plus forfeiture.

Additionally, in-service candidates must serve the government for a minimum period (three years for government-seats, ten years for those on deputation) or else repay the cost of their training, including stipend, allowances, tuition and an additional Rs 50 lakh (degree) or Rs 25 lakh (diploma) as penalty.