It is definitely most reassuring, most refreshing and so also most rejuvenating to learn that while not leaving even a scintilla of doubt in the mind of anyone, the Supreme Court in a most learned, laudable, landmark, logical and latest judgment titled Atul Kumar vs The Chairman (Joint Seat Allocation Authority) and Others in Writ Petition (Civil) No 609 of 2024 and cited in Neutral Citation No. = 2024 INSC 749 that was pronounced as recently as on September 30, 2024 in the exercise of its civil original jurisdiction while striking the right note and batting most vociferously for the most marginalized sections of society stepped forward to direct the admission most commendably of a Scheduled Caste student named Atul Kumar to IIT Dhanbad while observing that a talented student belonging to a marginalized group who had done everything to secure admission should not be left in the lurch. I have certainly just no words to express my unadulterated appreciation from the bottom of my heart for the Apex Court for acting so valiantly to come to the rescue of a student who is the son of a daily wager and who is a member of a Scheduled Caste community, who missed admission to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Dhanbad due to his sheer inability to pay Rs 17,500 as fees on time before the portal closed despite making six earnest attempts to log in and successfully upload his documents. It must be emulated by the top court in future also in similar such cases!
Most valiantly, while stepping forward to very rightly, robustly and rationally exercising its extraordinary power as conferred under Article 142 of the Constitution ordered the creation of a supernumerary seat for the petitioner who was just unable to pay due to his poor financial condition. It also must be noted that a three-Judge Bench of Apex Court comprising of Hon’ble Chief Justice of India Dr DY Chandrachud, Hon’ble Mr Justice JB Pardiwala and Hon’ble Mr Justice Manoj Misra most commendably and most sagaciously minced just no words to say in no uncertain terms that, “The petitioner logged in on 24 June 2024 between 15.12 hours and 16.57 hours, on as many as six occasions. This evidently indicates that he was making earnest efforts to log into the portal. There is no conceivable reason why the petitioner would not have done so if he had the wherewithal to pay the fees of Rs 17,500. A talented student like the petitioner who belongs to a marginalized group of citizens and has done everything to secure admission should not be left in the lurch.” Absolutely right! There can be just no denying or disputing it!
At the very outset, this brief, brilliant, bold and balanced judgment authored by a three-Judge Bench of Apex Court comprising of Hon’ble Chief Justice of India Dr DY Chandrachud, Hon’ble Mr Justice JB Pardiwala and Hon’ble Mr Justice Manoj Misra sets the ball in motion by first and foremost putting things in perspective in para 1 envisaging that, “The petitioner is a meritorious student. He belongs to the Scheduled Caste category. He appeared for the JEE (Advanced) 2024 Examination and secured a rank of 1455 in his category. He was allotted a seat at the Indian Institute of Technology Dhanbad for a four year Bachelor of Technology course in Electrical Engineering. This was the second attempt and, therefore, the last chance for the petitioner to secure admission since only two attempts are permissible. The petitioner has disclosed that his father is a daily wager. The petitioner completed his higher secondary education from Khatauli, District Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh. The family income is below the poverty line.”
As we see, the Bench then discloses in para 2 of this robust judgment that, “The time frame for the completion of online reporting, including the payment of fees and uploading of documents was till 5 pm on 24 June 2024. The petitioner has stated that his parents arranged the funds required for the payment of fees. The fees were deposited in his brother’s account by 4.45 pm. The petitioner states that he logged into the portal of the first respondent at 4.45 pm and applied in the ‘float category’ of admission and uploaded the documents. The portal closed at 5 pm and his payment was not processed.”
As it turned out, the Bench then enunciates in para 3 of this notable judgment observing that, “The petitioner thereafter addressed an email to the first respondent. A response was received on 26 June 2024 from the IIT Bombay Office for JEE (Advanced) redirecting the candidate to the organizing IIT, which is IIT Madras. Eventually, these attempts did not bear any fruit.”
While laying bare the chain of events further, the Bench then discloses in para 4 of this remarkable judgment that, “The petitioner approached the Jharkhand High Court Legal Aid Service Committee and he was directed to the Legal Services Committee of the Madras High Court. A writ petition was instituted before the High Court of Madras, but when the case came up for hearing, he was advised to approach this Court.”
Do note, the Bench notes in para 5 of this recent judgment that, “The facts as they have been revealed before this Court indicate that there is no dispute about three critical aspects: (i) the allotment of the seat in Electrical Engineering to the petitioner at IIT Dhanbad; (ii) the Scheduled Caste status of the petitioner; and (iii) the steps which were taken by the petitioner to comply with all formalities pursuant to the allotment to him of a seat for the course.”
Most significantly, most commendably, most remarkably, most sagaciously and so also I must say undeniably most forthrightly, what constitutes the cornerstone of this noteworthy judgment is then brilliantly encapsulated in para 6 which has captured my all attention and must grab maximum eyeballs and maximum nerves of minds postulating most forcefully that, “Counsel appearing on behalf of the first respondent has furnished to the Court the log-in details of the petitioner, which indicate that he was diligent in accessing the portal and did everything within his power to secure the realization of his admission. The petitioner logged in on 24 June 2024 between 15.12 hours and 16.57 hours, on as many as six occasions. This evidently indicates that he was making earnest efforts to log into the portal. There is no conceivable reason why the petitioner would not have done so if he had the wherewithal to pay the fees of Rs 17,500. A talented student like the petitioner who belongs to a marginalized group of citizens and has done everything to secure admission should not be left in the lurch. The power of this Court under Article 142 of the Constitution to do substantial justice is meant precisely to cover such a situation.”
Equally significant it is to note that while continuing in a similar vein and as a corollary, the Bench then directs in para 7 stating that, “We accordingly order and direct that the petitioner should be granted admission to IIT Dhanbad against the seat which was allotted to him in the branch of Electrical Engineering. The petitioner will be admitted to the same batch to which he would have been admitted in pursuance of the order of allotment. The petitioner is ready and willing to pay fees of Rs 17,500, which may be paid over personally at the time when admission is granted to him. A supernumerary seat shall be created for the petitioner, if so required, for the purpose of complying with this order and no existing student shall be disturbed in consequence. The petitioner would be entitled to all the consequential benefits of admission, including allotment of hostel accommodation and other facilities.”
No less significant is what is then propounded by the Apex Court Bench in para 8 of this rational judgment observing that, “Since the admission of the petitioner has been delayed for no fault of his, we request the Director of IIT Dhanbad to use his good offices to ensure that the petitioner can duly complete the course work for the period which has already elapsed during this academic year. This will ensure that the petitioner is abreast of his class and does not suffer for the delay in granting him admission.”
Further, the Apex Court Bench then states in para 9 of this refreshing judgment that, “The Petition is disposed of in the above terms.”
Finally, the Apex Court Bench then while drawing curtains very rightly on this most commendable judgment concludes by holding and directing in para 10 that, “Pending applications, if any, stand disposed of.”
In conclusion, I am just falling short of words and it is beyond the capacity of my pen to express in words my huge and unlimited appreciation to the top court for rising so vocally in favour of a Dalit student named Mr Atul Kumar from Uttar Pradesh who amidst all his problems and poor financial condition managed to crack the most difficult JEE entrance exam in his last attempt and was allotted a seat in Electronics Engineering at most prestigious IIT Dhanbad. But the 18-year-old missed the admissions after he had failed to pay the fee of Rs 17,500 in time. All doors were closed for him and had the Supreme Court not volunteered to make a timely intervention in this most pressing issue and used its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of Constitution to ask the institute to grant him access, all his hopes would have been dashed to the ground! But most gracefully, we see that the timely and most urgently needed Supreme Court intervention proved to be the biggest boon and most turning point in the life of Mr Atul Kumar as all other options had been closed before him on this score for which I am sure that he will always be most deeply indebted to the top court! Very rightly so!
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