{"file_name": "2024_10_150_153_EN.pdf", "text": "[2024] 10 S.C.R. 150 : 2024 INSC 749\n\nAtul Kumar \nv. \nThe Chairman (Joint Seat Allocation Authority) and Others\n\n(Writ Petition (Civil) No 609 of 2024)\n\n30 September 2024\n\n[Dr Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, CJI, J B Pardiwala and \nManoj Misra, JJ.]\n\nIssue for Consideration\n\nMatter pertains to Schedule caste category student who lost his \nadmission to IIT since he was late in paying the online admission \nfee of Rs 17,500/- by a few minutes.\n\nHeadnotes†\n\nConstitution of India – Art. 142 – Exercise of power under – \nIndian  Institute  of  Technology  IIT-Admission  –  Schedule \ncaste category student allotted seat in Electrical Engineering \ncourse at IIT – Took all steps to comply with all formalities \npursuant  to  the  allotment  to  him  of  a  seat  for  the  course, \nhowever, lost his admission to IIT since he was late in paying \nthe online admission fee of Rs 17,500/- by a few minutes – \nChallenge to:\n\nHeld:  Petitioner  logged  in  as  many  as  on  six  occasions  and \nuploaded the documents, which evidently indicates that he was \nmaking  earnest  efforts  to  log  into  the  portal  –  No  conceivable \nreason why the petitioner would not have done so if he had the \nwherewithal to pay the fees of Rs 17,500 – Talented student like \nthe petitioner who belongs to a marginalized group of citizens \nand has done everything to secure admission should not be left \nin  the  lurch  –  Power  of  this  Court  u/Art.142  to  do  substantial \njustice is meant precisely to cover such a situation – Petitioner \nto be granted admission to IIT Dhanbad against the seat which \nwas  allotted  to  him  in  the  branch  of  Electrical  Engineering  – \nSupernumerary  seat  to  be  created  for  the  petitioner,  if  so \nrequired. [Paras 6, 7]\n\nConstitution of India.\n\nList of Acts\n\n\f[2024] 10 S.C.R.  \n\n151\n\nList of Keywords\n\nIIT-Admission;  Schedule  caste  category;  Electrical  Engineering \ncourse; Made efforts to log into the portal; Lost admission to IIT; \nLate in paying online admission fee by few minutes; Marginalized \ngroup of citizens; Granted admission to IIT; Supernumerary seat.\n\nCase Arising From\n\nCIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION: Writ Petition (Civil) No. 609 of 2024\n\n(Under Article 32 of The Constitution of India)\n\nAppearances for Parties\n\nAmol  Chitale,  Sarthak  Sharma,  Mrs.  Pragya  Baghel, Advs.  for  the \nPetitioner.\n\nSonal Jain, Ms. Kajal Sharma, Arjun Mitra, Advs. for the Respondents.\n\nJudgment / Order of the Supreme Court\n\nOrder\n\n1.  The petitioner is a meritorious student. He belongs to the Scheduled \nCaste category. He appeared for the JEE (Advanced) 2024 Examination \nand secured a rank of 1455 in his category. He was allotted a seat at \nthe Indian Institute of Technology Dhanbad for a four year Bachelor \nof Technology course in Electrical Engineering. This was the second \nattempt  and,  therefore,  the  last  chance  for  the  petitioner  to  secure \nadmission since only two attempts are permissible.  The petitioner has \ndisclosed that his father is a daily wager. The petitioner completed \nhis higher secondary education from Khatauli, District Muzaffarnagar, \nUttar Pradesh. The family income is below the poverty line.\n\n2.  The time frame for the completion of online reporting, including the \npayment  of  fees  and  uploading  of  documents  was  till  5  pm  on  24 \nJune 2024. The petitioner has stated that his parents arranged the \nfunds  required  for  the  payment  of  fees.  The  fees  were  deposited \nin  his  brother’s  account  by  4.45  pm.  The  petitioner  states  that  he \nlogged into the portal of the first respondent at 4.45 pm and applied \nin the ‘float category’ of admission and uploaded the documents. The \nportal closed at 5 pm and his payment was not processed. \n\n3.  The petitioner thereafter addressed an email to the first respondent. A \nresponse was received on 26 June 2024 from the IIT Bombay Office \n\nAtul Kumar v. The Chairman  (Joint Seat Allocation Authority) and Others\f152 \n\n[2024] 10 S.C.R.\n\nfor JEE (Advanced) redirecting the candidate to the organizing IIT, \nwhich is IIT Madras. Eventually, these attempts did not bear any fruit. \n\n4.  The petitioner approached the Jharkhand High Court Legal Aid Service \nCommittee  and  he  was  directed  to  the  Legal  Services  Committee \nof the Madras High Court. A writ petition was instituted before the \nHigh Court of Madras, but when the case came up for hearing, he \nwas advised to approach this Court. \n\n5.  The facts as they have been revealed before this Court indicate that \nthere is no dispute about three critical aspects: (i) the allotment of \nthe seat in Electrical Engineering to the petitioner at IIT Dhanbad; (ii) \nthe Scheduled Caste status of the petitioner; and (iii) the steps which \nwere taken by the petitioner to comply with all formalities pursuant \nto the allotment to him of a seat for the course. \n\n6.  Counsel appearing on behalf of the first respondent has furnished \nto  the  Court  the  log-in  details  of  the  petitioner,  which  indicate  that \nhe  was  diligent  in  accessing  the  portal  and  did  everything  within \nhis power to secure the realization of his admission. The petitioner \nlogged in on 24 June 2024 between 15.12 hours and 16.57 hours, \non as many as six occasions. This evidently indicates that he was \nmaking earnest efforts to log into the portal.  There is no conceivable \nreason  why  the  petitioner  would  not  have  done  so  if  he  had  the \nwherewithal  to  pay  the  fees  of  Rs  17,500. A  talented  student  like \nthe petitioner who belongs to a marginalized group of citizens and \nhas done everything to secure admission should not be left in the \nlurch.  The power of this Court under Article 142 of the Constitution \nto do substantial justice is meant precisely to cover such a situation. \n\n7.  We accordingly order and direct that the petitioner should be granted \nadmission  to  IIT  Dhanbad  against  the  seat  which  was  allotted  to \nhim  in  the  branch  of  Electrical  Engineering.  The  petitioner  will  be \nadmitted to the same batch to which he would have been admitted \nin pursuance of the order of allotment. The petitioner is ready and \nwilling to pay fees of Rs 17,500, which may be paid over personally \nat the time when admission is granted to him. A supernumerary seat \nshall be created for the petitioner, if so required, for the purpose of \ncomplying with this order and no existing student shall be disturbed in \nconsequence. The petitioner would be entitled to all the consequential \nbenefits of admission, including allotment of hostel accommodation \nand other facilities. \n\nDigital Supreme Court Reports\f[2024] 10 S.C.R.  \n\n153\n\n8.  Since the admission of the petitioner has been delayed for no fault of \nhis, we request the Director of IIT Dhanbad to use his good offices \nto ensure that the petitioner can duly complete the course work for \nthe  period  which  has  already  elapsed  during  this  academic  year. \nThis will ensure that the petitioner is abreast of his class and does \nnot suffer for the delay in granting him admission.\n\n9.  The Petition is disposed of in the above terms.\n\n10.  Pending applications, if any, stand disposed of. \n\nResult of the Case: Writ Petition disposed of.\n\n†Headnotes prepared by: Nidhi Jain\n\nAtul Kumar v. The Chairman  (Joint Seat Allocation Authority) and Others\f"}