Conferment of rights on Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder
Section 7B of the Citizenship Act, 1955 deals with conferment of rights on Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder. Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, an Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder shall be entitled to such rights, other than the rights specified under sub-section (2), as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify in this be The Act came into force on 30 Dec 1955.
1[7B. Conferment of rights on Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder.-- (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, an Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder shall be entitled to such rights, other than the rights specified under sub-section (2), as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify in this behalf.--
(2) An Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder shall not be entitled to the rights conferred on a citizen of India
(a) under article 16 of the Constitution with regard to equality of opportunity in matters of public employment;
(b) under article 58 of the Constitution for election as President;
(c) under article 66 of the Constitution for election as Vice-President;
(d) under article 124 of the Constitution for appointment as a Judge of the Supreme Court;
(e) under article 217 of the Constitution for appointment as a Judge of the High Court;
(f) under section 16 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 (43 of 1950) in regard to registration as a voter;
(g) under sections 3 and 4 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (43 of 1951) with regard to the eligibility for being a member of the House of the People or of the Council of States, as the case may be;
(h) under sections 5, 5A and section 6 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (43 of 1951) with regard to the eligibility for being a member of the Legislative Assembly or the Legislative Council, as the case may be, of a State;
(i) for appointment to public services and posts in connection with affairs of the Union or of any State except for appointment in such services and posts as the Central Government may, by special order in that behalf, specify.
(3) Every notification issued under sub-section (1) shall be laid before each House of Parliament.]
Section 7B, The Citizenship Act, 1955 (Act 57 of 1955).
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
This section refers to
- s. 5 Citizenship by registration
- Representation of the People Act s. 16 Disqualifications for registration in an electoral roll
- Representation of the People Act s. 3 Qualification for membership of the Council of States
- Representation of the People Act s. 4 Qualifications for membership of the House of the People
- Representation of the People Act s. 6 Qualifications for membership of a Legislative Council
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Rita Sikka v. Union of India
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Citizenship Act s.7B(1) empowers the Central Government to notify rights of OCI cardholders; after the 05.01.2009 notification conferred parity with NRIs for practising as doctors/dentists (among others), Del HC held the petitioner OCI dentist became eligible for consideration/registration and directed fresh Dentists Act s.10(4) processing within eight weeks.
On this section: s.7B — Central Government notification confers specified rights on OCI cardholders (here professional parity for dentists)
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Made under this section, and citing it
2 instruments state that it was made under this provision — the power to make it comes from here, so a change to any of them changes what this section requires in practice. Newest first.
Another 1 instrument names this provision in its title or its text without being made under it.
Questions about Section 7B
What have the courts held on Section 7B of the Citizenship Act?
Rita Sikka v. Union of India (02 Feb 2009) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: s.7B — Central Government notification confers specified rights on OCI cardholders (here professional parity for dentists).
How do I find court cases under Section 7B of the Citizenship Act?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Citizenship Act 1955 7B, section 7B Citizenship Act 1955, section 7B of the Citizenship Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Rita Sikka v. Union of India (02 Feb 2009).
What should I read with Section 7B of the Citizenship Act, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 5 (Citizenship by registration), Representation of the People Act 16 (Disqualifications for registration in an electoral roll), Representation of the People Act 3 (Qualification for membership of the Council of States), Representation of the People Act 4 (Qualifications for membership of the House of the People), and on 1 further provision, so none of them can safely be read on its own. The rules and notifications made under it are where it actually bites, and there are 2: most recently eligibility for appointment as teaching faculty in Indian Institute of Science and new AIMS set up under PMSSY (2018), then Eligibility of persons registered as OCI cardholder for appointment as teaching faculty (2017).
When did Section 7B of the Citizenship Act come into force?
Section 7B of the Citizenship Act, cited as Citizenship Act 1955 7B, came into force on 30 Dec 1955, having been enacted on 30 Dec 1955. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 6A. Special provisions as to citizenship of persons covered by the Assam Accord990 words
- 18. Power to make rules681 words
- 5. Citizenship by registration638 words
- 10. Deprivation of citizenship554 words
- 4. Citizenship by descent523 words
- 2. Interpretation520 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 20 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.