NEET Aspirants Moves Supreme Court Challenging MHA Notification Treating OCIs At Par With NRIs For Admissions

The Supreme Court will hear tomorrow a writ petition challenging the notification dated March 4, 2021 ("impugned notification") issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs which treats Overseas Citizens of India at parity with Non Resident Indians with regards to All India Entrance Tests such as NEET, JEE (Mains), JEE (Advanced) or such other tests for the purpose of admissions.

Preferred by OCI's (Krithika K and Shivam Pradipkumar Thakker) who were aspirants to the NEET UG 2021 which was held on September 12, 2021 the matter will be heard by the bench of Justices Abdul Nazeer and Krishna Murari.

Filed through Advocate Abhishekh Jebaraj, the petition seeks for declaration of the clause 4 (ii) of notification dated March 4, 2021 ("impugned clause") as ultra vires Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India in so far as it fails to accord parity to resident Indian OCIs with resident Indian citizens in all matters of entry and admission to professional colleges in India from the year 2021-2022 onwards.

It also seeks for quashing Para 4.2.3 of the NEET UG Information Bulletin for Admission to Undergraduate Medical Courses which states that OCIs are not eligible for admission against any seat reserved exclusively for Indian citizens, and seeks the passport number/citizenship certificate number of OCIs as proof of identity.

The petitioners have argued that the impugned clause is complete reversal of the earlier notification dated January 5, 2009 issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs which placed OCIs on par with Indian Citizens in matters of admissions.

"With the impugned clause, OCIs are forcibly put at par with NRIs and made eligible for admission only against NRI seats or any supernumerary (i.e., extra) seat. This puts resident OCI students such as the Petitioners at a grave disadvantage. The Petitioners have undergone many years of their schooling in India, and their families live and work in India. However, they are not allowed to compete with the general pool of candidates, and are forced to compete for a very small number of seats in the NRI quota. They are also subject to exorbitant admission fees that accompany the NRI quota seats, which they cannot afford unlike NRIs whose families are living and working in the global west and have more access to financial resources," petition states.

OCI's have also contended that the impugned clause is also an attempt to override the judgment dated December 9, 2020 passed by the Division Bench of the Hon'ble High Court of Karnataka which held that the 2009 notification could only be interpreted to allow OCIs admission at par with Indian Citizens.

"A challenge to the judgment of the Division Bench was moved before this Hon'ble Court by way of a Special Leave Petition filed by the State of Karnataka in State of Karnataka v. Pranav Bajpe and Ors. bearing SLP (C) No. 2904/2021. In view of the 04.03.2021 notification, however, SLP (C) No. 2904/2021 was withdrawn by the State of Karnataka and the judgment of the Division Bench of the Karnataka High Court has in that regard attained finality," petition states further in this regards.

The Top Court on September 7, 2021 had issued notice in the petition which further seeks for issuance of directions to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and National Testing Agency to treat OCI's at par with Indian citizens for the purposes of admission to MBBS/BDS courses and other undergraduate medical courses in approved/recognized Medical/Dental & other Colleges/ Institutes and directed for tagging the petition with the main which challenges various provisions of Citizenship Act, 1955.

The matter will now be heard tomorrow with the petition titled Dr Radhika Thapetta and Ors v Union of India which assails sections 7B(1), 7D, 8(2) and 9(1) of the Citizenship Act, 1955 as being ultra vires of Articles 14, 19, 21 and 25 of the Constitution.

Case Title: Krithika K and Anr v Union of India