Can an overseas citizen of India (OCI) or a person of Indian origin (PIO) represent India in an international sporting event? No they cannot, said the Delhi High Court in Karm Kumar & Robert Blanchette v Union of India & Ors.
With this the court upheld the government’s first policy statement on foreign nationals of Indian origin participating in Indian sports. Issued in December 2008 with a clarification in March 2009, the policy creates a system where “only Indian nationals are eligible to be part of the national team and walk under the Indian flag”.
The court said this policy of shutting OCIs and PIOs out of international sporting events, while allowing them into national events, cannot be seen as arbitrary, irrational or unreasonable. It said this was the result of the government not recognizing the dual citizenship of an OCI in all aspects.
The update of court judgments is compiled by Bhasin & Co, Advocates, a corporate law firm based in New Delhi. The authors can be contacted at lbhasin@bhasinco.in or lbhasin@gmail.com. Readers should not act on the basis of this information without seeking professional legal advice.
