UP Student Misses Out IIT Seat For Not Depositing Fees, CJI Chandrachud Offers Hope

Atul Kumar knocked the Supreme Court's door hoping to get back his seat in IIT. CJI Chandrachud has assured him of help.

Representational Image| The 18-year-old UP student had secured admission to IIT Dhanbad after clearing JEE (Advanced) in June.

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An 18-year-old youth from Uttar Pradesh who finally cracked the JEE (Advanced) exam in his last attempt, lost his seat at the Indian Institute of Technology after he missed the deadline by just three minutes. However, there is still hope that he might get back his seat as Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud has assured him of help.

Atul, the son of a daily wage labourer at a transformer factory in Meerut and a part-time tailor, had borrowed money from the villagers and collected a sum of Rs 17,500, which was to be deposited online to confirm his admission. However, his dreams shattered after the server of the portal stopped responding due to a technical glitch, and the deadline exceeded by three minutes. 

Atul Kumar saw his results on his older brother's laptop on June 9 and realised that he had achieved his dream of pursuing electrical engineering at IIT Dhanbad. He is a resident of Titora village in UP's Muzzafarnagar and comes from a below poverty line Dalit family. His mother also works as an agriculture labourer and makes cots. Despite the financial crunch, his parents tried best to ensure their children received an excellent education. Atul is not the first child in the family to secure admission in IIT.

"I will eat half a roti, but I will definitely educate my children," The Indian Express quoted his father as saying.

When the case came up before the bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud in the Supreme Court, the CJI assured him of help.

"When the counseling was over, I got admission in the Electrical Department in IIT Dhanbad. So, I had to pay the fee for seat acceptance before 5 pm on June 24. The amount was Rs 17,500. I arranged the money at 4:45 pm. But the window (college online portal) had closed, due to which I could not pay the fee," Atul said.

After he missed the deadline he called IIT Dhanbad and also the coaching institute he studied in, but got no relief. He then approached the Jharkhand Legal Services Authority, the Madras High Court, and the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, to save his hard-earned seat. 

When all efforts failed and he did not get a positive response, he knocked on the Supreme Court. His petition was heard by a bench headed by CJI Chandrachud. "We are fortunate that our case came to the attention of Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud," said Rajendra, Atul's father.

The CJI was informed about Atul's story and how he had managed to clear the exam and collect the fees. The top court made an observation in favour of the young man, giving the family some hope of getting back the seat.

"Keeping in view the social background of the petitioner and the difficulties faced by him, we believe that this is a fit case for issuing notice to ascertain whether something can be done to safeguard the entry of the petitioner," CJI Chandrachud said, as quoted by News 18.

The matter has been listed for September 30.