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VIKAS MAHAJAN
Shubham Chauhan – Appellant
Versus
Union of India – Respondent
JUDGMENT
Vikas Mahajan, J. The Petitioner in the present writ petition is aggrieved by the cancellation of his provisionally allotted seat, on account of his failure to pay the seat acceptance fee by the deadline.
2. The brief facts which led to the filing of the present writ petition are that the Petitioner took the Joint Entrance Exam (Advanced) 2022 and he was declared successful with an All India Rank (AIR) of 5095. The Petitioner being a beneficiary of the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota secured GEN-EWS rank 600.
3. Sequel to above, the Petitioner registered himself on the online portal of Joint Seat Allocation Authority 2022 (JoSAA 2022) [Respondent No. 3] and uploaded all requisite documents on the portal. Thereafter, he was provisionally allotted a seat in the `Indian Institute of Technology (ISM) Dhanbad' for the program - `Mathematics and Computing (5 years Integrated Master of Technology) vide Initial Seat Allotment Intimation Slip [Annexure P-3] on 23.09.2022.
4. On being provisionally allotted the seat, the Petitioner was required to complete the steps in accordance with the procedure laid down in Rule 41 under Section XVIII of the JoSAA Business Rules, 2022
Strict adherence to the timeline and irreversible seat cancellation for non-payment of the fee as per the Business Rules. The court emphasized the uniform application of the Business Rules and cited ....
The main legal point established in the judgment is the binding nature of the Rules of Business on all participants and the consequences of non-compliance with the grievance redressal mechanism.
Non-payment of the seat acceptance fees as required by the JoSAA 2023 Business Rules leads to cancellation of the allocated seat and exclusion from further rounds of seat allocation.
The judgment emphasizes the need for equitable consideration of students' challenges in making online payments and the importance of addressing technical issues in the admission process.
The Supreme Court exercised jurisdiction under Article 142 to ensure a Dalit student's admission to IIT despite fee payment complications, highlighting issues of justice and the digital divide.
A university cannot deny a student the right to continue studies or withhold examination results based on procedural failures, especially after allowing the student to attend classes and take exams.
A procedural mistake by a student may be excused when it risks depriving a meritorious candidate of their admission, emphasizing the importance of justice over strict adherence to rules.
A candidate's initial acceptance of admission can be revoked before the joining deadline, preserving their eligibility for future vacancies.
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