A group of 22 Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) aspirants has approached the Supreme Court of India challenging the abrupt and arbitrary policy reversal by the Joint Admission Board (JAB) regarding the eligibility criteria of JEE Advanced 2025.

The matter has been listed to be taken up today, Friday, December 20, by a bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan.

The Joint Admission Board (JAB) oversees the JEE (Advanced) for admissions into the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).

This year, on November 5, the JAB announced an increase in the number of attempts to three. However, on November 18, the exam-conducting authority took a u-turn, restoring the previous limit of two attempts per candidate.

The petitioners argue that this abrupt policy change has caused them significant hardship, as many had already begun preparing for the exam with the expectation of a third attempt.

In the petition, it has been highlighted that several aspirants have already registered for the JEE Main exam, enrolled in coaching programmes, and even altered their academic plans based on the assumption that the new attempt limit would be in place. Some petitioners, for example, discontinued their other academic commitments, including dropping out of other college courses or cancelling registration for other examinations like the SAT.

The petition also emphasises that JAB’s actions were arbitrary, lacked transparency, and were taken without due consultation or stakeholder engagement.

The petitioners have urged the Supreme Court to direct the exam conducting body to set aside the press release dated November 18, 2024, and direct the authorities to allow all students who passed Class XII in 2023 to participate in JEE Advanced 2025.