ATUL KUMAR versus THE CHAIRMAN (JOINT SEAT ALLOCATION AUTHORITY) AND OTHERS
[2024] 10 S.C.R. 150, Supreme Court of India, 2024
Outcome: Disposed off
Segment: Issues
[2024] 10 S.C.R. 150 : 2024 INSC 749
Atul Kumar 
v. 
The Chairman (Joint Seat Allocation Authority) and Others
(Writ Petition (Civil) No 609 of 2024)
30 September 2024
[Dr Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, CJI, J B Pardiwala and 
Manoj Misra, JJ.]
Issue for Consideration
Matter pertains to Schedule caste category student who lost his 
admission to IIT since he was late in paying the online admission 
fee of Rs 17,500/- by a few minutes.
Headnotes†
Constitution of India – Art. 142 – Exercise of power under – 
Indian Institute of Technology IIT-Admission – Schedule 
caste category student allotted seat in Electrical Engineering 
course at IIT – Took all steps to comply with all formalities 
pursuant to the allotment to him of a seat for the course, 
however, lost his admission to IIT since he was late in paying 
the online admission fee of Rs 17,500/- by a few minutes – 
Challenge to:
Held: Petitioner logged in as many as on six occasions and 
uploaded the documents, which evidently indicates that he was 
making earnest efforts to log into the portal – No conceivable 
reason why the petitioner would not have done so if he had the 
wherewithal to pay the fees of Rs 17,500 – Talented student like 
the petitioner who belongs to a marginalized group of citizens 
and has done everything to secure admission should not be left 
in the lurch – Power of this Court u/Art.142 to do substantial 
justice is meant precisely to cover such a situation – Petitioner 
to be granted admission to IIT
Dhanbad against the seat which 
was allotted to him in the branch of Electrical Engineering  – 
Supernumerary seat to be created for the petitioner, if so 
required. [Paras 6, 7]
List of Acts
Constitution of India.
[2024] 10 S.C.R. 
151
Atul Kumar v. The Chairman  
(Joint Seat Allocation Authority) and Others
List of Keywords
IIT-Admission; Schedule caste category; Electrical Engineering 
course; Made efforts to log into the portal; Lost admission to IIT; 
Late in paying online admission fee by few minutes; Marginalized 
group of citizens; Granted admission to IIT; Supernumerary seat.
Case Arising From
CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION: Writ Petition (Civil) No. 609 of 2024
(Under Article 32 of The Constitution of India)
Appearances for Parties
Amol Chitale, Sarthak Sharma, Mrs. Pragya Baghel, Advs. for the 
Petitioner.
Sonal Jain, Ms. Kajal Sharma, Arjun Mitra, Advs. for the Respondents.
Judgment / Order of the Supreme Court
Order
1.	
The petitioner is a meritorious student. He belongs to the Scheduled 
Caste category. He appeared for the JEE (Advanced) 2024 Examination 
and secured a rank of 1455 in his category. He was allotted a seat at 
the Indian Institute of Technology Dhanbad for a four year Bachelor 
of Technology course in Electrical Engineering. This was the second 
attempt and, therefore, the last chance for the petitioner to secure 
admission since only two attempts are permissible.  The petitioner has 
disclosed that his father is a daily wager. The petitioner completed 
his higher secondary education from Khatauli, District Muzaffarnagar, 
Uttar Pradesh. The family income is below the poverty line.
2.	
The time frame for the completion of online reporting, including the
payment of fees and uploading of documents was till 5 pm on 24 
June 2024. The petitioner has stated that his parents arranged the 
funds required for the payment of fees. The fees were deposited 
in his brother’s account by 4.45 pm. The petitioner states that he 
logged into the portal of the first respondent at 4.45 pm and applied 
in the ‘float category’ of admission and uploaded the documents. The 
portal closed at 5 pm and his payment was not processed. 
3.	
The petitioner thereafter addressed an email to the first respondent. A 
response was received on 26 June 2024 from the IIT Bombay Office
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[2024] 10 S.C.R.
Digital Supreme Court Reports
for JEE (Advanced) redirecting the candidate to the organizing IIT, 
which is IIT Madras. Eventually, these attempts did not bear any fruit. 
4.	
The petitioner approached the Jharkhand High Court Legal Aid Service 
Committee and he was directed to the Legal Services Committee 
of the Madras High Court. A writ petition was instituted before the 
High Court of Madras, but when the case came up for hearing, he 
was advised to approach this Court. 
5.	
The facts as they have been revealed before this Court indicate that 
there is no dispute about three critical aspects: (i) the allotment of 
the seat in Electrical Engineering to the petitioner at IIT Dhanbad; (ii) 
the Scheduled Caste status of the petitioner; and (iii) the steps which 
were taken by the petitioner to comply with all formalities pursuant 
to the allotment to him of a seat for the course. 
6.	
Counsel appearing on behalf of the first respondent has furnished 
to the Court the log-in details of the petitioner, which indicate that 
he was diligent in accessing the portal and did everything within 
his power to secure the realization of his admission. The petitioner 
logged in on 24 June 2024 between 15.12 hours and 16.57 hours, 
on as many as six occasions. This evidently indicates that he was 
making earnest efforts to log into the portal.  There is no conceivable 
reason why the petitioner would not have done so if he had the 
wherewithal to pay the fees of Rs
17,500. A talented student like 
the petitioner who belongs to a marginalized group of citizens and 
has done everything to secure admission should not be left in the 
lurch.  The power of this Court under Article 142 of the Constitution 
to do substantial justice is meant precisely to cover such a situation. 
7.	
We accordingly order and direct that the petitioner should be granted 
admission to IIT Dhanbad against the seat which was allotted to 
him in the branch of Electrical Engineering. The petitioner will be 
admitted to the same batch to which he would have been admitted 
in pursuance of the order of allotment. The petitioner is ready and 
willing to pay fees of Rs 17,500, which may be paid over personally 
at the time when admission is granted to him. A supernumerary seat 
shall be created for the petitioner, if so required, for the purpose of 
complying with this order and no existing student shall be disturbed in 
consequence. The petitioner would be entitled to all the consequential 
benefits of admission, including allotment of hostel accommodation 
and other facilities.
[2024] 10 S.C.R. 
153
Atul Kumar v. The Chairman  
(Joint Seat Allocation Authority) and Others
8.	
Since the admission of the petitioner has been delayed for no fault of 
his, we request the Director of IIT Dhanbad to use his good offices 
to ensure that the petitioner can duly complete the course work for 
the period which has already elapsed during this academic year. 
This will ensure that the petitioner is abreast of his class and does 
not suffer for the delay in granting him admission.
9.	
The Petition is disposed of in the above terms.
10.	 Pending applications, if any, stand disposed of. 
Result of the Case: Writ Petition disposed of.
†Headnotes prepared by: Nidhi Jain