Allahabad HC pays Rs 15k fee for Dalit student to get admission into IIT BHU, takes inspiration from SC's IIT Bombay verdict

The Allahabad High Court has come to the rescue of a student who had landed a seat at IIT BHU, but was unable to secure the admission due to financial constraints.

The student, who had secured a 1469 Scheduled Caste rank in JEE Advanced, was unable to pay the seat acceptance fee on the website as her father had just been diagnosed with chronic kidney failure and needed the money for an urgent transplant procedure. Having fallen short of the required amount, the student had approached the Joint Seat Allocation Authority multiple times for some remedial measure, but had received no response. Once the final date of fee payment lapsed, she lost her seat, and then appealed to the High Court for assistance.

Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh drew inspiration from the Supreme Court's recent verdict in favour of Prince Jasbir Singh, a student who had landed a seat at IIT Bombay, but wasn't able to secure admission due to a technical issue. The Supreme Court had asked the centre, and JoSAA to not take a 'wooden approach' in a situation where a bright Dalit student would be denied his rightful opportunity to study in a premier institution. The court had ordered the creation of a seat for the student at IIT Bombay, adding that it would be a travesty of justice if the boy is denied the seat. At an earlier hearing of the case, the court had said that the judgement would not set a precedent for other cases regarding admissions into IITs.

"Considering the facts of the present case, where a young bright Dalit girl student has come before this Court seeking equity jurisdiction to enable her to pursue her dream of getting admitted in IIT, this Court on its own has volunteered to contribute Rs 15,000 the fee for allocation of the seat. The said amount has been handed over to the petitioner after Court hours today itself," said the court's order.

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The seat at IIT BHU will be subject to regularisation if it falls empty, or if the student fails to visit the campus and finish the payment formalities with relevant documents within three days.