The Supreme Court has come to the rescue of a Dalit youth, who had lost his seat in IIT Dhanbad after missing the deadline to deposit a fee. The court asked the institute to admit him to the BTech course, saying, "We cannot allow such a young talented boy to go away. He cannot be left in lurch.” A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra heard the matter.
Atul Kumar, who is the son of a daily wager, cracked JEE-Advanced but failed to deposit Rs 17,500 as the acceptance fee by June 24, the deadline for depositing the requisite fees for blocking the seat. Atul hails from a below-poverty-line (BPL) family living at Titora village in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh.
"My life is now back on track...The CJI did great, he said that financial constraints should not pose a hurdle in one's progress. He said that I have a bright future and it should not be impacted," Atul said after the verdict.
The top court used its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution in asking the IIT Dhanbad to admit Atul into its Electrical Engineering BTech course. “We are of the view that a talented student like the petitioner who belongs to a marginalised group who did all to secure admission should not be left out... We direct that candidate is granted admission to IIT Dhanbad and let him be in the same batch to which he would have been granted admission if the fees would have been paid,” the bench said in the order.
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Article 142 of the Constitution empowers the top court to pass any order in the interest of justice. The parents of the youth also approached the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, Jharkhand Legal Services Authority and the Madras High Court to save the hard-earned seat. The National Commission for Scheduled Castes also expressed its inability to help him.
As he had taken JEE at a centre in Jharkhand, the youth had also moved the Jharkhand State Legal Services Authority which suggested him to approach the Madras High Court as it was IIT Madras that had conducted the exam. The high court had asked him to approach the top court.
(With inputs from PTI)
