The Supreme Court came to the rescue of a Dalit youth, who had lost his seat in IIT Dhanbad after missing the deadline to deposit a fee. Know the entire story here.
Dhanbad: The Supreme Court on Monday delivered a judgment that changed the life of a bright Dalit student. The top court intervened to help the student, who had lost his seat at the prestigious IIT Dhanbad after missing the deadline to pay the admission fee for the BTech course. 18-year-old Atul Kumar was asked to deposit Rs 17,500 as the admission fees to join the IIT Dhanbad. The clock was ticking for him as he was given four days to come up with the admission money. His father, who is a wage labourer, tried his best to arrange for the sum, but fate was not on their side, and they ended up missing the deadline by a whisker. As a result, the distraught father decided to seek justice through the law and went to the top court of the country.
“We cannot allow such a young talented boy to go away. He cannot be left in lurch,” a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said.
The top court used its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution in asking the IIT Dhanbad to admit Atul Kumar into its Electrical Engineering BTech course.
“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 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,” the bench said in the order.
Article 142 of the Constitution empowers the top court to pass any order in the interest of justice.
The parents of Atul Kumar, 18, failed to deposit Rs 17,500 as the acceptance fee by June 24, the deadline for depositing the requisite fees for blocking the seat.
The parents of the youth also approached the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, Jharkhand Legal Services Authority and the Madras High Court to save the hard-earned seat.
Kumar, the son of a daily wager, hails from a below poverty line (BPL) family living at Titora village in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh.
The National Commission for Scheduled Castes also expressed its inability to help him.
As he had taken JEE at a centre in Jharkhand, the youth had also moved the Jharkhand State Legal Services Authority which suggested him to approach the Madras High Court as it was IIT Madras that had conducted the exam.
The high court had asked him to approach the top court.
(With PTI Inputs)
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