New Delhi, July 1 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Friday came to the rescue of an OBC student who qualified for the joint entrance examination (JEE) for admission in IIT engineering colleges but was denied admission due to a technical glitch while applying online for the counselling.
A vacation bench of Justice M.L. Mehta issued notice to the government and chairperson of JEE asking them to find a way to accommodate 18-year-old Jitendra Kumar Bansal, who secured 748th rank in the OBC merit list in this year’s JEE examination.
The student approached the court for the issue of writ of mandamus (meaning to command) seeking production of records with regard to the procedure for admission to various undergraduate courses in the IITs conducted by JEE-2011, especially the procedure as to the ‘Choice Filling’ online.
‘The petitioner got himself registered online, logging on to JEE counselling online portal as a first step for the online counselling. Accordingly, Bansal received the printed version of the result from chairman, JEE-2011, IIT Delhi,’ said the petition.
Later, he paid the registration fee and sent the requisite copies of the documents to the chairman, JEE, IIT Delhi.
Meanwhile, Bansal was not able to register himself for the counselling, which he alleged was because of failure of the IIT’s electronic 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 court’s door.
Justice Mehta observed: ‘Since the candidate has qualified the examination, IIT should find a way to accommodate him. Imagine the hardship he will face if his plea is not considered.’
‘The boy who has made it to this level should not be denied the right to appear in the counselling since it was only a technical error,’ he noted.
Since the last counselling for admission is on July 10, the court has asked IIT Delhi to file its reply on July 4. ‘You find out a way or the court will issue an appropriate order,’ the bench said.
