OCI students are eligible for admission to professional courses under government and institutional quota seats: Karnataka High Court

Declaring that students under the Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) class are to be thought of as ‘citizens’ of India, the Karnataka High Court has directed the State government to admit them to undergraduate professional courses, together with engineering, medical and dental even under the government and the institutional quota seats and not prohibit their admission solely under the NRI quota seats.

A Division Bench comprising Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice N.S. Sanjay Gowda delivered the decision whereas dismissing an enchantment filed by the government towards the April 2019 verdict of a single decide Bench, which additionally had allowed OCI students to search admission to professional courses in common quota of seats. The Division Bench allowed the petitions filed by OCI students, Pranav Bajpe and a number of others.

While confirming admission given to the students in 2019-20 primarily based on courtroom’s instructions, the Division Bench directed the government to admit all eligible OCI students to the professional courses, by the Karnataka CET and the NEET admission course of, from the tutorial yr 2020-21 onwards by permitting them to take part in counselling for number of seats within the government and the non-public aided or unaided schools.

The Division Bench has quashed Section 2(1)(n) of the Karnataka Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission & Determination of Fee) Act, 2006, as amended in 2017 to embody the ‘OCI’ cardholders throughout the definition of “Non-resident Indian.”

While deciphering the provisions of the Constitution, the Citizenship Act, 1955 and the notifications issued on the rights of OCI cardholders under this Citizenship Act, the Division Bench held that inclusion of the expression ‘OCI cardholder’ within the definition of NRI within the 2006 Act is opposite to notifications issued under the Citizenship Act. The legal guidelines of the State should yield to the Central regulation as citizenship is managed by the legal guidelines made by the Parliament, the Division Bench held.

Noticing that the petitioner-students, who had been minors on the time of submitting the petitions, the Bench held that they “had the benefit of a dual citizenship” – a citizenship of the overseas nation on account of their start in that nation and the citizenship of India as per Section 41A and 4(1)(b) of the Citizenship Act, offers citizenship of India with sure situations.

This proper is especially conferred on minors within the Citizenship Act in order to safeguard and defend their pursuits till they attain full age, the Bench noticed whereas holding that State’s regulation equating the OCI students with NRIs is opposite to their parity with the Indian residents made within the notifications issued under the Citizenship Act.