New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday (September 30) directed that a Dalit student who lost his admission to the Indian Institute of Technology(IIT) because he was late in paying the online admission fee of Rs 17,500 by a few minutes, be admitted to the institute.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra directed that the petitioner be should be granted admission in IIT Dhanbad, the seat which was allotted to him, reported LiveLaw.
“We cannot allow such a young talented boy to go away,” observed CJI Chandrachud.
The petitioner in the case is the son of a daily wage labourer in Uttar Pradesh whose family is below the poverty line.
The family had collected the admission fee of Rs 17,500 from their villagers on June 24 by 4.45 pm but could not make the online payment before the deadline of 5 pm.
While the counsel for the IIT opposed the plea by saying that the student had logged in around 3 pm and had ample time to make the payment, the court asked the respondent that why are they opposing the admission of the Dalit student so much and they should instead see if something can be done.
“The only thing that stopped him was the inability to pay and as the Supreme Court of India we need to see that,’ said CJI Chandrachud.
“All the best! Acha kariye!” CJI Chandrachud congratulated the petitioner who was also present in the Court
“We are affirmatively of the view that a talented student like the petitioner should not be left in the lurch. The power of the Court under Article 142 of the Constitution to do complete justice is to address such situations,” the court said in its order.
