BENGALURU: The Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cardholders will not be eligible for the Hyderabad-Karnataka reservation benefits provided under Article 371J of the Constitution, the Karnataka high court has said.
The decision was made by a division bench consisting of Chief Justice NV Anjaria and Justice KV Aravind while dismissing a petition filed by Meghana Kuruvalli, an 18-year-old student residing in Bengaluru.
Meghana, a UK citizen, sought a direction to the authorities to consider her case for admission to the MBBS and BDS courses for the academic year 2024-25 in Karnataka under the Hyderabad-Karnataka region quota, also known as the Kalyana-Karnataka quota. She claimed eligibility based on her birth in Secunderabad and having studied the last six years in Ballari which falls under the Hyderabad-Karnataka region. However, she was instructed to register as a foreign national/OCI, which she argued was contrary to the Supreme Court's judgment in the Anushka Rengunthwar case.
OCI cardholders only eligible for NRI seat in private colleges: KEA The Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) submitted that according to Karnataka Selection of Candidates for Admission to Govt Seats in Professional Educational Institutions Rules-2006, OCI cardholders are treated as foreign nationals and only eligible for Non-Resident Indian seats in private medical and dental colleges.
After examining the relevant legal provisions and the Supreme Court's verdict in the Anushka Rengunthwar case, the division bench noted that the top court had not extended the benefit of Article 371J to OCI cardholder-students.
The bench observed that the definition of 'local person' in Karnataka Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission in Hyderabad-Karnataka Region) Order-2013, is limited to a specific category of students for the purpose of reservation under Article 371J.
"The two classes are distinct classes with distinct characteristics in facts and in law, not comparable, nor liable to be grouped together for the purpose of admissions under the Hyderabad-Karnataka or Kalyana-Karnataka quota under Article 371J of the Constitution," the bench noted.
The provision of Article 371J of the Constitution does not cover the class of OCI cardholders and to such class the Article shall not have the application. Article 371J shall not be available to the petitioner-OCI cardholder. The prayer of the petitioner to be included for the benefit under Article 371J of the Constitution has been declined," the high court added.
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