The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) to charge a student belonging to the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) category the same fee paid by an Indian citizen for the 2021-2022 academic year.
A Bench of Justices S. Abdul Nazeer and Krishna Murari passed the order while referring to its interim direction in October last year allowing OCI candidates to participate in the counselling for general category in admission to various courses in 2021-22.
“We are of the view that the respondent, IIT-Madras, has to consider the applicant/petitioner at par with the Indian citizens with regard to the fee charged in terms of our order dated October 27, 2021, subject to the result of this petition,” the court ordered.
Senior advocate Anitha Shenoy, for the students, argued that though OCI students were included in the general category, they were charged fees at par with NRIs and foreign students.
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, for the government, argued that these are students who opt to leave the country after completing their courses. They do not give back to the country the benefit of their education. They cannot be placed on a par with Indian citizens who would stay back and serve their country.
“See the difference in fee. For non-Indian candidates it is ₹3,18,000 per semester and fee for Indian candidates is ₹1,04,000 per semester. The difference is only ₹two lakh odd per semester,” Ms. Bhati argued.
The court said the interim order to treat OCI students on a par with Indian students was only limited to the current academic year.
“It is clear from the aforesaid order that the OCI students are also permitted to be treated at par with Indian students and are allowed to apply to any course/courses including Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) for the academic year 2021-2022,” the court said in a separate but connected case concerning another OCI student.
