SC Directs IIT Bombay to Grant Interim Admission To Agra Student

The Supreme Court fixed 18-year old Batra’s plea for hearing after winter break, but his admission is contingent.

The Supreme Court, on Wednesday, 9 December directed the Indian Institute of Bombay to grant interim admission to an 18-year old student from Agra who ‘inadvertently’ clicked on a ‘wrong’ link that withdrew his admission from an engineering course in the top ranked university.

A bench headed by Justice SK Kaul, comprising Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Hrishikesh Roy took note of the submissions of lawyer Pralhad Paranjpe on behalf of the student Siddhant Batra who lost his seat from the four-year course, reported PTI.

The bench fixed Batra’s plea for hearing after winter break, but the admission of the student would be contingent to the final decision of the apex court.

Bombay High Court Had Dismissed Petition Noting Batra Can Reapply Next Year

The plea came to the apex court after its dismissal by Bombay High Court on 23 November who noted that the courts cannot intervene in the IIT college process as the seats for the course were full and admission rules had to be followed, reported PTI. The High Court noted that Batra could apply again next year for the JEE (Advanced) Course.

Batra had secured an All India Rank (AIR) of 270 in JEE Advanced exams. As per his plea, as he was filing the admission application online, he came across a page with ‘freeze’ option, which he thought meant confirming the seat and the completion of his admission process. The Division Bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice GS Kulkarni dismissed the petition saying that his petition had already been considered by IIT Bombay.

Batra has been living with his grandparents following the death of both his parents. In the petition, the 18-year-old says that he had worked hard against all odds to crack the entrance exam, meant for admission to IITs. His petition to the apex court asked the top court to consider his case on humanitarian grounds, and requested creation of an additional seat to undo his loss, reported PTI.

In November 2020, when the final list of students was uploaded on the IIT portal, his name was not included, reported PTI. Although Batra clicked on this link and stated ‘IIT Bombay, Electrical Engineering’ as the college, he maintains that withdrawing from the admission process was never his intention.

The prestigious university, in its order, however, said the withdrawal option was a “conscious” two-step process. Candidates who want to withdraw before the final round can do so and the ‘seat acceptance fee’ gets refunded, thereafter cancelling admission, reported PTI.

(With inputs from PTI.)