The Supreme Court stepped in to ensure justice for Atul Kumar, a bright Dalit student who lost his seat at IIT Dhanbad due to missing a fee payment deadline by a few minutes.
Here’s What Happened
Atul Kumar, an 18-year-old from a village in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, got admission in the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Dhanbad. He was supposed to pay the admission fee online to secure his spot. The fees was Rs 17,500 , which has to be paid by 5 pm on June 24.
What went wrong was that he missed the deadline and the portal closed. His father was a daily wage laborer and only managed to gather the amount by 4:45 pm. The family’s hopes were dashed, and they filed a case against it in court.
Supreme Court Intervenes
For three months, Atul and his father sought help from various legal authorities, including the SC/ST Commission and the Jharkhand and Madras High Courts, all efforts went in vain. Finally, the case reached the Supreme Court, where Chief Justice DY Chandrachud used the court’s extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution, and directed IIT Dhanbad to provide admission to Atul.
“We cannot allow such a young, talented boy to go away. He cannot be left in the lurch. He is a Dalit boy being made to run from pillar to post,” remarked the Chief Justice, expressing dismay at the situation Atul was forced to endure.
The bench, in its ruling, stated, “A talented student like the petitioner who belongs to a marginalized 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.”
Atul, who had worked diligently to clear the challenging IIT entrance exam in his last eligible attempt, was relieved after the ruling. “The court said my seat could not be snatched away solely due to a financial problem. The train that had derailed is back on track now,” he said with a smile.
His future aspirations remain intact, as he looks forward to pursuing a BTech in Electrical Engineering at IIT Dhanbad. “I will work hard and become an electrical engineer from IIT-Dhanbad,” he confidently told reporters.
“The last date was till 5 pm on 24 June… parents arranged the funds by 4:45 pm, the petitioner states that at 4:45 pm at the portal, the portal was closed at 5, and payment was not processed,” the court noted.
Chief Justice Chandrachud, before concluding the hearing, gave Atul an encouraging message: “All the best. Do well!”
