Entire village pools money for Dalit boy’s IIT dream but he misses deadline by 3 minutes; CJI offers hope

Sheer bad luck cost a Dalit boy his IIT dream after he missed the deadline just by 3 minutes. Unable to afford the fees of Rs 17,500, the 18-year-old had given up on his dreams. However, his entire village came together and pooled money for his admission.

Unfortunately, he missed the deadline to pay the acceptance fee by just three minutes due to a server failure. Hearing his case, Chief Justice of India Chandrachud has now assured the budding talent of all necessary help.

Atul, a resident of Titora village in UP’s Muzaffarnagar district hails from a poor family. His family work as labourers and at farmlands in Meerut. Despite all the obstacles and financial constraints, Atul studied well and had appeared for JEE this year.

Much to everyone’s surprise, he was qualified for admission in IIT Dhanbad. However, lack of money stood obstacle to Atul’s IIT dream. However, villagers came together to pool Rs 17,500 for his acceptance fees.

“I had to pay the acceptance fees before 5PM on June 24. The amount was Rs 17,500. I arranged the money at 4:45pm. But the window (college online portal) was closed by then, due to which I could not pay the fee,” Atul said.

Atul and his family then approached the Jharkhand High Court and then knocked on the Supreme Court. A bench headed by Chief Justice Chandrachud heard his petition and assured him of help.

“Keeping in view the social background of the petitioner and the difficulties faced by him, we believe that this is a fit case of issuing notice to ascertain whether something can be done to safeguard the entry of the petitioner,” the CJI’s three-judge bench said.

The ray of hope given by the Supreme Court has become a topic of discussion now at every tea shop and square in Atul’s village.