'Cannot Let Talent Go Wasted': SC Orders IIT Dhanbad To Grant Admission To Dalit Student Who Missed Fee Deadline

A Scheduled Caste candidate who was eligible for admission to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Dhanbad but was denied admission because of a delay in submitting the Rs 17,500 application fee was given relief by the Supreme Court on Monday, September 30, 2024. The relief was granted by the SC using its authority under Article 142.

The petitioner was given a seat in electrical engineering at IIT-Dhanbad.

What Was The Case?

The Dalit candidate filed a petition after failing to pay the money by the deadline stipulated by the institute. The Dalit student's attorney, according to ABP Live, told the bench that because the candidate's father was a daily wage worker, it took longer than the portal's deadline to provide for the Rs. 17,500 admission fee.

June 24, 2024, was the deadline for submitting the fees via the site. Although the candidate was able to arrange the funds by 4:45 PM on June 24, the deadline of 5 PM had already passed by the time he uploaded the documents and completed the online payment, according to the lawyer's submission.

The student received relief from the SC because it was his final try, his father is a daily wager, and he managed to manage the money at the last minute by gathering it from the villagers.

"Thus we direct that the 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. No existing student be disturbed, and let a supernumerary seat be created for the candidate. All the best! Do well," the CJI Chandrachud said while dictating the order, as quoted by ABP Live.

The petitioner is a deserving student who appeared in JEE Advanced 2024 and received a rank of 1455 in his category, according to the Supreme Court, which awarded him relief.