Amend norms for OCI students born before March 4, 2021: Karnataka High Court to KEA

Bengaluru: The high court has directed the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) to amend its notification/prospectus from next year onwards to consider the Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cardholders born before March 4, 2021, on a par with Indian citizens for admission to professional courses through government seats. 

A division bench of Justices D K Singh and Venkatesh Naik T passed this order, observing that clause 7 of the KEA’s January 22, 2025, notification is against the Supreme Court judgment in the Anushka Rengunthwar case. 

The division bench gave this direction while allowing the petitions filed by Shreyas Chaturvedi Murthy from Bengaluru and Mukul Pravin Khamayacha from Mysuru, both OCI cardholders. 

The petitioners submitted that they had studied in Karnataka throughout and completed Class 10 and PUC examinations.

They challenged the eligibility conditions specified in the KEA notification for admission to professional courses in the state for 2025-2026. 

Clause 7 stipulated that candidates must be Indian citizens and meet one of the specified eligibility conditions to qualify for government seats.

It also stated that candidates who do not meet the eligibility criteria are ineligible for admission to professional courses under government seats through the KEA. 

The counsels for the petitioners contended that both were born before March 4, 2021, and must be treated as Indian citizens as per the Anushka Rengunthwar case. 

The Union government informed the court that while it had framed the rules in tune with the Supreme Court Judgment, the rules have not yet been notified. 

“Once the Supreme Court has decided the issue that the OCI cardholders/persons having OCI card and who were born before 04.03.2021 should be treated as citizens of India for the purpose of admission, etc, clause 7 of the notification to that extent is against the judgment of the Supreme Court.

"Therefore, we direct the respondent Karnataka Examinations Authority to amend its notification/prospectus for the next year onwards in the light of the Supreme Court’s judgment in the case of Anushka Rengunthwar case supra, providing that the OCI cardholders who were born before 04.03.2021 shall be treated on par with Indian citizens for the purpose of admission in professional courses against the Government seats,” the bench said.