Gujarat: High Court unhappy with state’s stand on NRI quota, seeks response

Vatsa Shah (17), the petitioner, is a British citizen with an OCI, staying in Gujarat since 2014. She had requested the Admission Committee for Professional Medical Courses (ACPC) this month to consider her case.

While hearing the arguments of the petitioner, represented by advocate Rahul Sharma, Justice Dave commented on the inconsistent nature of the admission procedure to medical educational institutions. Justice Dave said, “There has to be some consistency in medical admission procedure, which is not there. When you (government) amend the rule, it should be preceded by some kind of exigency.”

When the court enquired about the fee structure, advocate Sharma told the court that the NRI seat fee is considerably higher as compared to that of a government seat. This, too, was noted by the court, following which the bench issued a notice to the state government seeking the party’s response to the petition.

The petitioner has prayed for the court’s directions to grant her admission to MBBS and other courses, if otherwise eligible. Shah had appeared for the NEET medical entrance exam this year and has secured admission under the NRI quota. She had, however, applied for the government seats but was denied admission on the grounds that she is an OCI. The petitioner challenged it on the grounds that a combined reading of amendments made to the Gujarat Professional Medical Educational Courses (Regulation of Admission and Fixation of Fees) Rules, 2017, along with the Central Government’s 2005 notification, make an OCI eligible for government seats.

The petitioner also submitted that the Gujarat Professional Medical Educational Courses (Regulation of Admission and Fixation of Fees) Rules, 2017 was amended in May 2018. The amendments opened up admissions to OCIs for MBBS courses without any restriction. On June 15, this year, two further amendments were brought in. The domiciliary requirement for persons born in Gujarat was dispensed with and the words “or overseas citizens of India” were dropped from a relevant sub-rule.

The scheme of admissions in various medical colleges, except for AIIMS and JIPMER, is such that 15% of seats in each government medical college/institution is filled up by an All India quota, while the rest of the 85% seats are filled up by the respective states. These 85% seats are commonly referred to as the state quota. In addition, there are management seats as well as Non-Resident Indian (NRI) seats.

The petitioner submitted that the ACPC’s rejection does not hold in light of a Central Government’s Ministry of Home Affairs notification of April 11, 2005. According to the notification, “An OCI shall be entitled parity with the Non-Resident Indians in respect to all facilities available to them in economic, financial and educational fields, except in matters relating to the acquisition of agricultural or plantation properties.”