Summary
The Court held that a postgraduate medical applicant first registered as an OCI cardholder in 2015 retained the benefit protected by Anushka Rengunthwar despite a later card issued in 2022. AIIMS could not reject her claim by applying the March 2021 restriction to her. It directed consideration of her and similarly placed eligible candidates in remaining counselling rounds for available seats, subject to rank and lawful availability.
Issues
- Whether the applicant’s first OCI registration before 4 March 2021 preserved her earlier admission privileges.
- What counselling relief should follow the unlawful change of her admission status.
Provisions considered
- Section 7B(1), Citizenship Act, 1955The power to specify or alter OCI rights was considered through Anushka Rengunthwar’s protection of accrued privileges against retroactive withdrawal. (¶¶ 13, 15, 16, 17)
- Clause 4(ii), proviso and supersession of earlier notifications, Ministry of Home Affairs Notification S.O. 1050(E), dated 4 March 2021The restrictive change could not displace the privileges preserved for the petitioner, whose original OCI registration preceded the notification. (¶¶ 13, 15, 16, 17)
Held
- Anushka Rengunthwar preserved earlier rights for similarly placed OCI cardholders against retroactive alteration by the 2021 notification. The relevant inquiry was the petitioner’s original registration, not merely the date appearing on the later card relied upon. (¶¶ 15, 16, 17)
- Because her first OCI registration was in November 2015, the petitioner’s entitlement to the protected benefit was clear. The June 2023 rejection of that eligibility could not stand. (¶ 17)
- Relief was consideration in remaining counselling rounds, not an unconditional allocation of the mock-round seat. It extended to seats unfilled on the judgment date, including specially earmarked or reserved-category seats only where they could lawfully be filled by candidates such as her, and to similarly placed pre-notification OCI candidates eligible by performance and rank. (¶¶ 14, 17)
Result
Writ petition allowed without costs. AIIMS and participating institutions directed to consider petitioner and similarly placed eligible pre-4 March 2021 OCI cardholders in remaining counselling rounds for available postgraduate medical seats, subject to the stated conditions.