New Delhi: The Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Monday wished “all the best” to a Dalit student, while granting relief to him after he failed to secure admission to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Dhanbad, despite clearing the exam.
Atul Kumar, 18, a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar, cleared the prestigious JEE exam in his last attempt. However, he was unable to pay the required fee by the deadline of June 24.
The CJI said the court will not allow a young talent to be left in lurch just because he missed the deadline for the online admission fee of Rs 17,500/, by a whisker and added that the court has taken into account his social and economic background.
The three-judge bench led by CJI and comprising justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra directed that the petitioner should be admitted to the seat in the electrical engineering course at IIT Dhanbad. The student's father, a daily wage labourer, for three months, did the rounds of the SC/ST Commission, the Jharkhand and Madras high courts and ultimately, when he was exhausted from running pillar to post for securing admission for his son, he moved the Supreme Court.
The CJI congratulated the petitioner, who was also present in the court along with his lawyer, saying, "all the best! acha kariye!" His lawyer told the bench that many senior lawyers have offered to sponsor his fees.
The petitioner’s counsel contended that the student's father was working as a daily wager and arranging the amount of Rs 17,500 was a big task for the family. The bench was informed that the family crowdfunded the amount from the villagers.
During the hearing, the bench said a supernumerary post be created for Kumar to accommodate him so that the admission of no other student is disturbed. “We cannot allow such a young talented boy to go away," said the bench.
The petitioner had collected the amount of Rs 17,500 from the villagers on June 24 by 4.45 PM but could make the online payment before the deadline of 5 PM.
The counsel, representing the IIT Seat Allocation Authority, opposed the petitioner’s request. The counsel said his login details indicated that he was logged in at 3 PM, which meant it was not a last-minute login. The bench was informed that it was communicated to the petitioner, regarding the payment, on the date of the mock interview, much prior to the last date. The counsel the petitioner was sent repeated reminders through SMS and WhatsApp. However, the bench did not accept this contention. “Why are you opposing so much? You should see if something could be done," the bench told the counsel.
The bench said there is no conceivable reason why the petitioner would not have paid the amount if he had the wherewithal to pay the amount of Rs.17,500.
"We are affirmatively of the view that a talented student like the petitioner should not be left in the lurch. The power of the court under Article 142 of the Constitution to do complete justice is to address such situations," said the bench, adding that the petitioner would pay the amount of Rs.17,500 in person.
The bench said the petitioner should be admitted to the same batch in which he would have been admitted. The apex court also made it clear that he should be given all consequential benefits such as hostel admission.
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