Today, Monday, September 30, the Supreme Court of India stepped in to assist a Dalit youth who lost his place at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Dhanbad, Jharkhand, owing to missing the fee payment deadline. The court directed the institute to admit Atul Kumar into the Bachelors in Technology (BTech) programme, as reported by PTI.
The bench, consisting of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justices JB Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra, stated, "We cannot allow such a young talented boy to go away. He cannot be left in the lurch."
Exercising its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution, the court ordered IIT Dhanbad to admit Kumar into the Electrical Engineering BTech course.
The bench remarked, "We are of the view that a talented student like the petitioner who belongs to a marginalised group who did all to secure admission should not be left out. 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."
Article 142 empowers the Supreme Court to issue any order in the interest of justice.
Atul Kumar, 18, faced a setback when his parents failed to pay the Rs 17,500 acceptance fee by the June 24 deadline required to secure his seat.
His parents reached out to various organisations, including the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, the Jharkhand Legal Services Authority, and the Madras High Court, seeking assistance to reclaim his hard-earned seat.
Kumar, the son of a daily wager, comes from a below-poverty-line (BPL) family residing in Titora village, Muzaffarnagar district, Uttar Pradesh.
The National Commission for Scheduled Castes also indicated it could not assist him.
Having taken the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) at a centre in Jharkhand, Kumar approached the Jharkhand State Legal Services Authority, which advised him to seek help from the Madras High Court, as IIT Madras had conducted the exam.
Ultimately, the high court directed him to the Supreme Court.
