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2020 Supreme(Del) 525
IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
Jayant Nath, J.
Sushma Ambati - Appellant
Versus
Ministry Of Education & Anr. - Respondent
Writ Petition (Civil) No. 7767 of 2020
Decided On : 03-11-2020
Mukesh Mohan Goyal, Advocate, Rajendra Sahu, Advocate, Arjun Mitra, Advocate
Candidates must be vigilant and circumspect while applying for examinations and making entries, especially in online processes, as voluntary agreements cannot be easily changed later.
Headnote:
Change of Category - JEE (ADVANCE) - Clause 3 of the Information Brochure - The court discussed the rules and regulations of JEE (ADVANCE) 2020, emphasizing that the category of a candidate has to remain the same as it was in the JEE (MAINS) 2020. The judgment of the co-ordinate bench of the court in the case of Ujjwal Tripathi vs. Director General National Testing Agency in W.P.(C) No. 5104/2019 was also referenced. The court found that the petitioner had voluntarily agreed to be treated as a general category candidate and dismissed the petition.
Fact of the Case:
The petitioner sought a direction to declare the result of the petitioner's daughter in the OBCNCL category for JEE (ADVANCE) 2020. The petitioner's daughter had initially opted for the OBC-NCL category but later faced confusion regarding the category change.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the petitioner had voluntarily agreed to be treated as a general category candidate and dismissed the petition.
Issues: The main issue was whether the petitioner's daughter should be declared in the OBC-NCL category for JEE (ADVANCE) 2020 despite the confusion and the petitioner's initial selection of the general category.
Ratio Decidendi: The court emphasized that the petitioner had voluntarily agreed to be treated as a general category candidate and could not now be permitted to change the category.
Final Decision: The petition was dismissed.
JUDGMENT
Jayant Nath, J. - CM APPL. No.25587/2020 (exemption)
Allowed subject to all just exceptions.
W.P.(C) 7767/2020 & CM APPL. No.25586/2020 (stay)
1. This writ petition is filed by the petitioner seeking a direction to the respondents to declare the result of the daughter of the petitioner, Ms.Kedar Priya Ambati of JEE (ADVANCE) 2020 considering her to be in the OBCNCL category (OBC Non-Creamy Layer).
2. It is submitted by the petitioner that respondent No.2 conducted the JEE (ADVANCE) examination which was held on 27.09.2020. The petitioner and her daughter belong to OBC-NCL category. The daughter of the petitioner appeared in the JEE (MAINS) 2020 exam and opted for the category OBC-NCL. The result of the petitioner was declared and she has a common rank list of 14731 whereas for the OBC-NCL the same would have worked out to 3098. It is pleaded in the petition that the daughter of the petitioner got herself enrolled on the web portal for the JEE (ADVANCE) 2020. There was some confusion as the petitioner did not have available the OBC-NCL certificate in the latest form. The petitioner, therefore, unselected the category OBC-NCL. The petitioner received an SMS on 29.09.2020 seeking to confirm if the petitioner wants to continue with the change in the category in the student portal with cut off as 01.10.2020. The petitioner did not confirm the change and through the communication dated 30.09.2020 informed respondent No.2 that they want to continue with their original selection of OBC-NCL. On 05.10.2020 an email was received stating that the category cannot be changed and it will be the same as mentioned in the JEE (MAINS). It is further stated that the admit card of the daughter of the petitioner for the said exam also showed the category as OBC-NCL. Reliance is also placed on the email dated 05.10.2020 which states that the category of a candidate as entered in the data base will be final and shall remain the same in JEE (ADVANCE) 2020 examination and request for change of category will not be entertained.
3. On 05.10.2020, when the results were announced of JEE (ADVANCED), the rank of the petitioner''s daughter for the OBC-NCL category was not shown. Hence the present writ petition.
4. It is the case of the petitioner that the rules provide that the category of the student cannot be changed. Hence, it is pleaded that the result of the petitioner'' daughter be declared in the category of OBC-NCL.
5. Respondent No.2 has filed its counter affidavit. It has been stated in the counter affidavit that the petitioner''s daughter has changed her category on her own after accepting and confirming the action and hence there is no merit in the writ petition.
6. It is stated that as per JEE (ADVANCE) 2020 information brochure the category of a candidate has to remain the same as it was in the JEE (MAINS) 2020. Reliance is placed on the Clause 3 of the Information Brochure. As per the Brochure the actual category certificate has to be uploaded on or before 26.09.2020. Later on, it was found that many candidates faced difficulty in producing the category certificate within the stipulated period up to 26.09.2020. It was provided that in the context of the OBC-NCL and GEN-EWS certificates the possibility of a candidate may not be able to collect the certificate within the stipulated time has been taken care of. Therefore, it was provided that such a candidate may submit a declaration in lieu of the certificate. A lot of candidates found difficulty in procuring the certificate within the stipulated time. A total of 2152 OBC-NCL, GEN-EWS candidates opted for change of category to General category during the JEE (ADVANCE) 2020 registration. This is because they declared that they were not in a position to submit a valid category certificate within the stipulated time period of 26.09.2020. Later on, it was informed that the last date to submit the category certificate was extended from 26.09.2020 to the start of seat allocation, which is 17.10
