Supreme Court Allows Additional JEE-Advanced Attempt: The Supreme Court has permitted students who withdrew from colleges between November 5 and November 18, 2024, to appear for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE)-Advanced three times, adhering to the Joint Admission Board‘s (JAB) earlier notification. This directive comes after the eligibility criteria for the exam, which had been expanded to allow three attempts, were abruptly reduced to two within a span of 13 days.
The case was heard by a bench comprising Justices B.R. Gavai and Augustine George Masih. Senior advocate K. Parameshwar, appearing for the petitioners, argued that the JAB’s decision to revise the eligibility criteria mid-cycle was arbitrary and left many students disadvantaged. According to reports from LiveLaw, he emphasized that the initial notification from November 5 had promised eligibility to students from the graduating classes of 2023, 2024, and 2025, leading several students to make life-altering decisions based on this assurance.
Abrupt policy reversal sparks controversy
Parameshwar highlighted instances where students, acting on the JAB’s November 5 notification, had dropped out of their current college courses to prepare for JEE-Advanced, only to find themselves excluded from eligibility after the criteria were revised on November 18. “Having held out a promise, they cannot arbitrarily reverse their stance,” he contended, adding that no justification was provided for the sudden change in policy.
Government defends two-attempt rule
The Solicitor General of India, Tushar Mehta, representing the JAB, defended the decision to limit attempts to two. He argued that allowing three attempts could disrupt academic focus for students who enroll in general engineering colleges but continue preparing for IITs. According to him, the revised policy aimed to minimize academic wastage by ensuring students concentrated on their current courses after two unsuccessful attempts at JEE-Advanced.
Court recognizes circumstances of policy change, grants interim relief for affected students
Justice Gavai, however, noted the unique circumstances of this year’s notification. The court acknowledged that while limiting attempts may be a sound policy in principle, the abrupt reversal within 13 days caused undue harm to students who had acted on the earlier notification. “If students have acted on this understanding, the withdrawal cannot be allowed to work to their detriment,” Justice Gavai observed, LiveLaw reported.
The court, balancing the interests of students and the JAB’s rationale, passed an interim order. It clarified that students who had withdrawn from colleges between November 5 and November 18, 2024, in reliance on the initial notification, would be permitted to register and appear for JEE-Advanced as per the earlier eligibility criteria allowing three attempts.
