Supreme Court of India
Atul Kumar vs The Chairman (Joint Seat Allocation … on 30 September, 2024
Author: Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud
Bench: Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud
WPC 609/2024
2024 INSC 749
Reportable
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION
Writ Petition (Civil) No 609 of 2024
Atul Kumar Petitioner
Versus
The Chairman (Joint Seat Allocation Respondents
Authority) and Others
ORDER
1 The petitioner is a meritorious student. He belongs to the Scheduled Caste
category. He appeared for the JEE (Advanced) 2024 Examination and secured
a rank of 1455 in his category. He was allotted a seat at the Indian Institute
of Technology Dhanbad for a four year Bachelor of Technology course in
Electrical Engineering. This was the second attempt and, therefore, the last
chance for the petitioner to secure admission since only two attempts are
permissible. The petitioner has disclosed that his father is a daily wager. The
petitioner completed his higher secondary education from Khatauli, District
Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh. The family income is below the poverty line.
Signature Not Verified
Digitally signed by
Chetan Kumar
Date: 2024.10.01
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13:09:38 IST
Reason:
WPC 609/2024
2 The time frame for the completion of online reporting, including the payment
of fees and uploading of documents was till 5 pm on 24 June 2024. The
petitioner has stated that his parents arranged the funds required for the
payment of fees. The fees were deposited in his brother’s account by 4.45
pm. The petitioner states that he logged into the portal of the first
respondent at 4.45 pm and applied in the ‘float category’ of admission and
uploaded the documents. The portal closed at 5 pm and his payment was not
processed.
3 The petitioner thereafter addressed an email to the first respondent. A
response was received on 26 June 2024 from the IIT Bombay Office for JEE
(Advanced) redirecting the candidate to the organizing IIT, which is IIT
Madras. Eventually, these attempts did not bear any fruit.
4 The petitioner approached the Jharkhand High Court Legal Aid Service
Committee and he was directed to the Legal Services Committee of the
Madras High Court. A writ petition was instituted before the High Court of
Madras, but when the case came up for hearing, he was advised to approach
this Court.
5 The facts as they have been revealed before this Court indicate that there is
no dispute about three critical aspects: (i) the allotment of the seat in
Electrical Engineering to the petitioner at IIT Dhanbad; (ii) the Scheduled
Caste status of the petitioner; and (iii) the steps which were taken by the
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WPC 609/2024
petitioner to comply with all formalities pursuant to the allotment to him of a
seat for the course.
6 Counsel appearing on behalf of the first respondent has furnished to the
Court the log-in details of the petitioner, which indicate that he was diligent
in accessing the portal and did everything within his power to secure the
realization of his admission. The petitioner logged in on 24 June 2024
between 15.12 hours and 16.57 hours, on as many as six occasions. This
evidently indicates that he was making earnest efforts to log into the portal.
There is no conceivable reason why the petitioner would not have done so if
he had the wherewithal to pay the fees of Rs 17,500. A talented student like
the petitioner who belongs to a marginalized group of citizens and has done
everything to secure admission should not be left in the lurch. The power of
this Court under Article 142 of the Constitution to do substantial justice is
meant precisely to cover such a situation.
7 We accordingly order and direct that the petitioner should be granted
admission to IIT Dhanbad against the seat which was allotted to him in the
branch of Electrical Engineering. The petitioner will be admitted to the same
batch to which he would have been admitted in pursuance of the order of
allotment. The petitioner is ready and willing to pay fees of Rs 17,500, which
may be paid over personally at the time when admission is granted to him. A
supernumerary seat shall be created for the petitioner, if so required, for the
purpose of complying with this order and no existing student shall be
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WPC 609/2024
disturbed in consequence. The petitioner would be entitled to all the
consequential benefits of admission, including allotment of hostel
accommodation and other facilities.
8 Since the admission of the petitioner has been delayed for no fault of his, we
request the Director of IIT Dhanbad to use his good offices to ensure that the
petitioner can duly complete the course work for the period which has
already elapsed during this academic year. This will ensure that the
petitioner is abreast of his class and does not suffer for the delay in granting
him admission.
9 The Petition is disposed of in the above terms.
10 Pending applications, if any, stand disposed of.
……..…………….…………………..CJI.
[Dr Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud]
..…….………..……………….………..J.
[J B Pardiwala]
..…….………..……………….………..J.
[Manoj Misra]
New Delhi;
September 30, 2024
CKB
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