Dalit youth misses IIT seat by minutes, SC assures help
The Supreme Court has assured assistance to a Dalit youth from a below poverty line (BPL) family, who lost his seat at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Dhanbad due to a missed fee payment deadline. The court issued notices to relevant authorities, including the Joint Seat Allocation Authority and IIT Admissions, to address this issue. "We will help you as far as possible," a bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said.
Kumar's family struggles to meet fee deadline
Atul Kumar, the son of a daily wage laborer from Titora village in Muzaffarnagar district, Uttar Pradesh, cleared the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Advanced in his second and final attempt. His family struggled to arrange ₹17,500 for the acceptance fee by the June 24 deadline. They managed to gather the funds by 4:45pm on June 24, but Kumar was unable to complete the payment process before 5:00pm due to technical issues with the admission website.
Kumar's unsuccessful appeals for help
After the missed deadline, Kumar's parents sought help from the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, Jharkhand Legal Services Authority as he had taken his JEE in Jharkhand, and the Madras High Court to retain their son's hard-earned seat. However, these efforts were unsuccessful. The Jharkhand State Legal Services Authority advised him to approach the Madras High Court as it was IIT Madras that had conducted the exam.
Kumar's last hope lies with Supreme Court
The high court, in turn, directed him to approach the Supreme Court. His counsel argued that if the top court does not intervene, Kumar would lose his only chance at attending IIT as he has exhausted his attempts for the JEE Advanced. The bench has now issued notices to relevant authorities including IIT Admissions and IIT Madras, which conducted this year's test.
