Bengaluru: The High Court of Karnataka has ruled that reservation provided under Article 371J of the Constitution will not be available to students having Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cards.
A division bench of Chief Justice N V Anjaria and Justice K V Aravind held this while dismissing a petition filed by a student residing in Bengaluru.
The petitioner, Meghana Kuruvalli, had moved the court seeking 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 Article 371J of the Constitution and under the Karnataka Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission in Hyderabad Karnataka Region) Order, 2013.
The 2013 order deals with seats earmarked for students of the Hyderabad-Karnataka region, also known as the Kalyana Karnataka quota.
The petitioner, who holds UK citizenship, claimed that she was born in Secunderabad and had studied the last six years in Ballari, which comes under Hyderabad Karnataka, and was hence eligible for the quota under Article 371J.
On the other hand, Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) has clubbed OCI cardholders with foreign nationals as per the Karnataka Selection of Candidates for Admission to Government Seats in Professional Educational Institutions Rules, 2006, and thus treated eligible only for NRI seats in private medical and dental colleges.
The division bench noted that citizenship is a political status whereas the domicile may carry with the person certain civil rights.
“The petitioner is a citizen of the United Kingdom but holding OCI card could hardly be considered to be qualified to be grouped along with the category of the students who are eligible and entitled to seek the benefit under Article 371J of the Constitution,” the bench said.
The bench also said that the category of beneficiaries under Article 371J and for that purpose Karnataka Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission in Hyderabad-Karnataka Region) Order, 2013, are distinct and separate class, when juxtaposed with the class of persons who have the status of OCI cardholders under section 7A of the Citizenship Act.
“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 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,” the bench said.