NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Centre after admitting a petition by Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) who contested a government notification that prohibits them from competition for medical seats in the general category. The 2021 notification violates Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution as it fails to accord parity to OCIs with resident Indian citizens in all matters of entry and admission to professional colleges, the petitioners said.
The plea filed contends that the parity granted to OCIs with Indian citizens is completely reversed by the notification. “OCIs were, without warning, lumped into the same category as NRIs for the purposes of admissions, a field in which the two categories were treated as separate and distinct for well over a decade,” it said.
In the first week of May, the SC had refused interim relief to the OCI-NEET aspirants who sought permission to be treated at par with Indian citizens for admission and counseling in medical colleges.
The petitioners submitted that they aspire to study medicine and allied courses for which they have been working for some years. “Having toiled hard over the last few years for these competitive exams, for which the application windows have already opened, the petitioners find themselves arbitrarily prohibited from competing for any of the seats in the general category and have been made eligible only for NRI seats by virtue of the 2021 notification despite the fact that NRIs and resident OCIs are distinct categories.”