Dalit Student’s IIT Admission: Supreme Court Order

The Supreme Court stated that we cannot allow talented youth to go away. This remark was made regarding Atul Kumar’s admission to IIT Dhanbad, who missed the deadline to pay the required fee. Atul, an 18-year-old resident of Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, cleared the prestigious JEE exam in his last attempt and was allotted a seat in Electronics Engineering.

Kumar’s family faced significant financial challenges. His father, a daily wage worker, earns Rs 450 a day, making it a considerable struggle to arrange Rs 17,500 for the fee. They had to gather money from villagers to manage this amount. After initially approaching the Jharkhand High Court and Madras High Court, he finally moved to the Supreme Court.

The bench, headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, said, “We cannot let such a talented young boy go away. A Dalit boy being forced to run from pillar to post is unacceptable.”

The advocate for IIT Dhanbad argued that the National Informatics Centre (NIC) sent Atul an SMS, and IIT communicated via two WhatsApp messages, emphasizing that he logged in daily. In response, Justice Pardiwala asked, “Why are you opposing so much? Why are you not finding a way out?”

Chief Justice Chandrachud added, “He is such a bright student. The only thing that stopped him was Rs 17,000.”

The Supreme Court observed that the deadline to deposit the fee was at 5 PM on June 24. Atul’s parents arranged the fee by 4:45 PM, but the payment was not processed as the portal closed at 5 PM.

“The login details indicate that he was diligent in accessing the portal. There was no substantial reason why the petitioner would log in if he did not have the fees to pay. We believe that a talented student should not be left in the lurch. We direct that admission be granted to IIT Dhanbad,” the court ruled.

Chief Justice Chandrachud concluded that Atul Kumar should be admitted to the same batch and that a supernumerary seat be created for him without disturbing the candidature of any other student.