Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cardholders are considered foreign nationals and do not have the right to claim educational reservation benefits under Article 371J of the Constitution meant for Indian citizens.

ORDER :

(N.V. Anjaria, CJ.) :

The petitioner, who is the Overseas Citizen of India cardholder and registered as such under Section 7A of the CITIZENSHIP ACT , 1955, by filing this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution, has amongst other prayers, advanced the prayer to consider her case for admission to the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery as well as to the Bachelor of Dental Surgery courses for the academic year 2024-25 in the State of Karnataka, under Article 371J of the Constitution, and under the Karnataka Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission in Hyderabad Karnataka Region) Order, 2013 for the seats earmarked for the students of Hyderabad-Karnataka Region.

Prayers and Relief

2. In addition to the aforementioned principal prayer to be grouped together with the category of students under Article 371J of the Constitution for admission in the Hyderabad-Karnataka or Kalyana Karnataka quota, the other attendant prayers are made to set aside Clause 6 of Notification dated 09.01.2024 issued by respondent No.2-Karnataka Examination Authority which clause inter alia contemplates that ‘no candidate shall be eligible for admission to the Government seats unless he is citizen of India’ and that ‘eligibility for Overseas Citizen of India/Person of Indian Origin candidates shall be as per the directions of the Government’. It is further prayed to set aside clause 6.1 of the Information Bulletin issued by respondent No.1-State of Karnataka and respondent No.2-Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) dated 10.01.2024 to the extent it provides similarly.

2.1 The petitioner has the grievance that the KEA has clubbed together on its website the Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) candidates with the Non-Resident India (NRI)/Foreign National candidates. It is the prayer to set aside the said Clause of clubbing. Further prayed is to consider the case of the petitioner under Article 371J of the Constitution in the Hyderabad-Karnataka Region general category seats. The petitioner wants that she should be permitted to participate in the seat allotment process and to chose the seat in the course accordingly.

2.2 The next prayer put forth is to declare that in light of the decision of the Supreme Court in Anushka Rengunthwar and others v. Union of India and others [(2023) 11 SCC 209 : AIR 2023 SC 903 ], the petitioner is eligible and entitled to appear and participate in the seat selection and allotment process for the academic year 2024-2025. The last prayer made by the petitioner is that the authorities are guilty of contempt of court for violating the decision of Anushka Rengunthwar (supra), in not treating the petitioner-the OCI cardholder at par with Indian citizen.

Basic Facts

3. The case of the petitioner inter alia is that although the petitioner is an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) Cardholder, she has studied for the last six years in Ballari, State of Karnataka, that she has completed her 10th standard examination from Ballari and further that she has appeared for the 2nd Pre University Certificate examination, the result of which is awaited.

3.1 It is stated that the petitioner studied in the Hyderabad- Karnataka Region for six academic years and her father has studied in the said region for more than seven academic years. It is the claim of the petitioner that despite her registration as OCI cardholder, since she was born in Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh in India, she can assert the status of Indian citizenship by birth. The petitioner has subsequently acquired the citizenship of United Kingdom. Undisputedly, the petitioner is a foreign national with citizenship of United Kingdom, whose parents stay at United Kingdom. The registration certification as OCI Cardholder, copy figuring on record, reflects such particulars of the petit