“Aspirants Who Dropped Out Between Nov 5-18 2024 Eligible For JEE-Advanced”: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Friday granted permission for petitioners who dropped out of their courses between November 5 and November 18, 2024, to register for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE)-Advanced.

This decision came while the Court was hearing pleas challenging the reduction of attempts for JEE-Advanced aspirants from three to two.

A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih noted that the Joint Admission Board (JAB), responsible for conducting the JEE-Advanced exam, had issued a press release on November 5, 2024, stating that students who appeared for the Class 12 examinations in the academic years 2023, 2024, and 2025 would be eligible for the JEE-Advanced.

However, on November 18, 2024, the JAB released another notice restricting eligibility to only the academic years 2024 and 2025.

The bench remarked that if students had dropped out based on the initial November 5 press release, believing they would be eligible for the examination, the subsequent change on November 18, 2024, could not be allowed to work against them. The Court emphasized that the promise made in the first press release must be honored.

Without commenting on the merits of the JAB’s decision, the Supreme Court allowed students who had dropped out between November 5 and November 18, 2024, to register for JEE-Advanced.

The Court was hearing two petitions, one filed by 22 aspirants, challenging the reduction in attempts for JEE-Advanced. The petitioners argued that they had dropped out of their colleges in reliance on the initial press release, which promised three attempts at JEE-Advanced. Another plea, filed by advocate Sanjeet Kumar Trivedi, called the change in eligibility criteria arbitrary, noting that the JAB initially allowed 3 attempts in its November 5 release, only to reduce it to 2 attempts in a subsequent release on November 18, 2024.

Court’s ruling ensures that students affected by the change in eligibility criteria will not be penalized for acting in good faith based on the initial announcement.

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