The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Monday contributed Rs 15,000 for a talented Scheduled Caste student to start her IIT BHU studies in a dual engineering course. The student couldn’t part with the meagre amount because her father was undergoing treatment for kidney ailments and she was at risk of losing the seat.

The single-judge bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh directed the joint seat allocation authority and IIT BHU to admit Sanskriti Ranjan in Mathematics and Computing course Bachelor and Master of Technology, dual degree course.

Judge Singh noted,

“The facts of the case are extraordinary and peculiar in the sense that the petitioner belongs to a Scheduled Caste community. She is a bright student.”

Servesh Kumar Dubey and Samta Rao, counsels for the petitioner, submitted that the petitioner was not able to pay Rs 15,000 for seat acceptance as her father has been diagnosed with chronic kidney disease and has been advised for kidney transplant. He has to undergo dialysis twice a week to survive. It is said that due to ill health of the father of the petitioner and financial crisis created by medical expenses and Covid-19, the petitioner could not arrange Rs 15,000 fee for allotment of seat at IIT, BHU.

The bench ordered that Joint Seat Allocation Authority and IIT BHU are directed to admit the petitioner in Mathematics and Computing (5 years, Bachelor and Master of Technology (Dual Degree)). If there is no seat vacant in the said discipline, IIT BHU is directed to create a supernumerary post, which shall be subject to the admission of the petitioner being regularized in the event of any seat falling vacant in future as a result of exigency which may arise in the course of admission process. If no seat falls vacant, the petitioner shall continue her studies for Mathematics and Computing (5 years, Bachelor and Master of Technology (Dual Degree)) course against a supernumerary seat.

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The petitioner had secured 95.6% marks in 10th and 94% marks in 12th. She appeared in the Joint Entrance Examination for selection in the IITs. The petitioner was successful in clearing the exam. She has secured 92.77 percentile marks in JEE Mains Examination and, she secured her rank at 2062 as SC candidate.

Thereafter, the petitioner had applied for JEE Advanced on September 16, 2021 and, cleared JEE Advance on October 15, 2021 with 1469 rank in Scheduled Caste Category.

The petitioner was allotted a seat at IIT (BHU) Varanasi for Mathematics and Computing (5 years, Bachelor and Master of Technology (Dual Degree) in the counseling. But she could not arrange Rs 15,000 to be paid before the scheduled date.

The petitioner and her father have written many times to the Joint Seat Allocation Authority for extension of time indicating precarious conditions for which she could not deposit the fee but no reply has come forth from the Joint Seat Allocation Authority.

Servesh Kumar Dubey and Samta Rao, counsels who are assisting the petitioner in the matter on Court’s request, have brought to the notice of the Court an interim order dated November 22, 2021 passed by the Supreme Court in Civil Appeal No.6983 of 2021: Prince Jaibir Singh vs Union of India & Ors.

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In the said case, a candidate namely, Prince Jaibir Singh, a Dalit student, could not deposit the fee for seat allocation before the last date of depositing the fee and, the Supreme Court considering career prospect of a young Dalit student, who was on the verge of losing valuable seat allotted to him in IIT Bombay, directed that the said candidate be admitted in IIT Bombay pursuant to the allocation of the seat to him by creating a supernumerary seat.

“The aforesaid order though was passed under Article 142 of the Constitution of India but considering the facts of the case, where a young bright dalit girl student has come before the Court seeking equity jurisdiction to enable to pursue her dream of getting admitted in the IIT”,

-the court said.

The petitioner shall report at IIT BHU within a period of three days from today with relevant papers and fee for getting herself admitted for Mathematics and Computing (5 years, Bachelor and Master of Technology (Dual Degree).

The petition is listed for next week along with the application.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court today dismissed a plea seeking postponement of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), which was scheduled to be held in September 2020.

The bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra, B.R. Gavai and Krishna Murari was hearing a plea filed by 11 students from 11 states, submitting that the decision to hold JEE and NEET exams in September 2020 at a time when the country was still fighting COVID-19 was “utterly arbitrary, whimsical and violative of the fundamental right to life of lakhs of affected students.”

The petitioners submitted: “Lakhs of young students are likely to appear in the aforesaid JEE (Main) April-2020 and NEET UG-2020 exams in September, 2020. Meanwhile, COVID-19 cases are increasing in India at an alarming rate. The deadly pandemic COVID-19 has already affected about 20 lakh people in India and the situation is worsening by every passing day. Conducting the aforesaid examination across India at such perilous time, is nothing else but putting lives of lakhs of young students (including Petitioners herein) at utmost risk and danger of disease and death.”

The bench, while dismissing the petition, said that the postponement of exams will only put the career of students at peril and if exams were not held, students will lose an academic year which will be a loss to the country.

The bench further pointed out that if demand was being made for resuming physical functioning of courts then “why can’t exams be held by taking necessary precautions?”

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for NTA, ensured the court that adequate precautions will be taken while conducting the exams.

Advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava, appearing for the petitioner, however, submitted that since the risk arising from the pandemic was still existing and other exams like CA and CLAT have been cancelled, NEET and JEE should also be cancelled.

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The bench, however, said that it was not going to interfere with policy decisions of the authorities and took on record SG Mehta’s submission that exams will be conducted with adequate precautions.

– India Legal Bureau