Coming to the rescue of an 18-year-old student who qualified the IIT joint entrance examination (JEE) but was denied admission due to a technical error while applying online for counselling, the Delhi high court on Friday issued notice to the IIT-JEE chairman and the Centre to explain the reasons for denial of admission to him.
Jitender Kumar Bansal, who secured 748th rank in the OBC merit list in this year’s IIT-JEE, moved the Delhi HC after he was denied admission despite being declared selected in the OBC category.
After hearing Jitender’s plea, vacation bench Justice M.L. Mehta has sought a detailed response from the secretary of human resources development (HRD) ministry and the chairman of the IIT-JEE and fixed the matter for further hearing on July 4.
Soon after the court sought the response from the respondents, the petitioner student, whose father runs a dairy in Yamuna Vihar, talking to this newspaper, said, “I want to study civil engineering at IIT, it is my dream.”
Jitender claimed in his petition that even after qualifying the entrance, he couldn’t register himself for counselling allegedly because of failure of the server. After his repeated requests to IIT Delhi director and chairman to allow him admission failed to generate any favourable and concrete response, he knocked the doors of the Delhi HC.
Justice Mehta observed, “Since the candidate has qualified the examination, IIT should find out a way to accommodate him. Imagine the hardships he will face if his plea is not considered,” adding that the meritorious boy has made it to this level and thereby he should not be denied the right to appear in the counselling since it was only a technical error.
The court also said that since the last counselling for admission is on July 10, so it has asked IIT Delhi to file it’s reply on July 4. ‘You find out a way or the court will issue an appropriate order,” the bench said.