TV
The Supreme Court of India on Thursday sought response from the Central government and other authorities on a petition demanding that students who cleared their Class 12 examinations in 2023 be permitted to appear for JEE-Advanced 2025, the gateway to the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).
A bench comprising Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih issued notices to the Centre, the Joint Admission Board (JAB), and other relevant parties, directing them to respond to the plea. The JAB is responsible for conducting the JEE-Advanced examination.
The petition has been filed by 18 IIT aspirants, who argue that although they are eligible to take their final attempt at the JEE-Mains in 2025, they have been barred from appearing for JEE-Advanced, which is scheduled to take place on May 18, 2025.
"Issue notice, returnable on April 21, 2025," the bench directed.
Senior advocate Shadan Farasat represented the petitioners.
Disparity Between JEE-Mains And JEE-Advanced Attempts:
"The lack of uniformity in number of attempts in JEE-Mains and Advanced deprives the petitioners of equal opportunity to secure admission in IIT compared to students who have passed XII in 2024 and 2025," the plea, filed through advocate Mrinmoi Chatterjee, read.
Admissions in the IITs, the plea said, were secured through a two-step entrance examination, JEE-Mains followed by JEE-Advanced, and JEE-Mains is held in two sessions in a year.
The plea stated that the petitioners were affected by the "abrupt and arbitrary policy reversal" concerning the eligibility criteria for JEE Advanced 2025 by the JAB. The board had first announced an increase in the number of permissible attempts from two to three on November 5, 2024, but later reversed this decision on November 18, 2024.
"The restriction/limit on number of attempts to only two is inadequate, excessive and against the interest of the thousands of IIT aspirants including the petitioners," it said.
Policy Change And Reversal Sparks Dispute:
The petitioners contended that the "revised" eligibility criteria restricted JEE-Advanced 2025 participation only to those who had completed Class 12 in 2024 and 2025.
According to the plea, the policy for JEE-Mains allowed candidates to take the exam up to six times across three consecutive years.
However, the plea pointed out that JEE-Advanced enforced a restriction of only two attempts, creating a disparity between the two exams.
"This difference in the eligibility criteria for JEE-Mains and Advanced is irrational, discriminatory, inherently arbitrary, liable to be set aside," the plea asserted.
Supreme Court's Previous Observation On The Issue:
The petitioners cited a January 10 order from the apex court on a different petition, where it observed that JAB had released a press statement on November 5 last year, stating that students who had taken the Class 12 examination in 2023, 2024, and 2025 would qualify to sit for the JEE-Advanced.
The court further noted that on November 18, 2024, JAB issued another press release, modifying the eligibility criteria to include only students from the academic years 2024 and 2025.
The Supreme Court then ruled that students who had withdrawn from their courses and discontinued their studies between November 5, 2024, and November 18, 2024, would be allowed to register for JEE-Advanced.
(With PTI inputs)
