Create seat to admit student who lost out due to tech glitch, Supreme Court asks IIT

The Supreme Court of India

The Supreme Court has asked the Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JOSAA) of the IITs to create a seat for admitting an underprivileged student who lost out due to technical glitch.

A two-judge bench comprising Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and A.S. Bopanna exercised its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to give the direction to JOSAA to do the needful within two days.

The petitioner, who is a ‘Dalit’ had cleared the Joint Entrance Examination 2021 and secured All India Rank of 25,894 and SC (Scheduled Caste) Rank 864.

The two-judge bench of the apex court observed that the young Dalit student is on the verge of missing out a valued seat, which was allocated in IIT Bombay.

“It would be a great travesty of justice if the young Dalit student is denied admission for non-payment of fees to IIT Bombay after having tried to do so. Hence, we are of the view that it’s a fit case of article 142 in interim stage," the apex court observed.

The Supreme Court gave its order after it was informed that the student was unable to pay fees on time due to technical error while processing admission fee payment. At IITs, admission at the B.Tech level is carried out by the Joint Seat Allocation Authority.

The court also asked JOSAA to be compassionate, understand ground realities, and consider the socio-economic background. It ordered that a seat be created and allocated to the student in IIT Bombay without disturbing the admission of any other student. The direction came after JOSSA apprised the apex court that no vacant seats are available.

“Please understand the realities of social life, the issues on ground…If it was his negligence then we would not have asked you," the bench observed.