An Allahabad High Court judge has come to the rescue of a Dalit girl who could not secure admission to the IIT-BHU in Varanasi for failing to pay the fees of ₹15,000 due to a financial crisis brought about by her father’s illness. The judge volunteered to pay the requisite fees.
Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh contributed ₹15,000 for the allocation of the girl’s seat and handed over the sum to her on Monday.
Justice Singh also directed the Joint Seat Allocation Authority and IIT-BHU to admit the student, Sanskriti Ranjan, to the Mathematics and Computing course (five-year, dual-degree Bachelor and Master of Technology).
If there is no seat vacant in the said discipline, the court directed IIT-BHU to create a supernumerary post, which shall be subject to the admission of the student being regularised in the event of any seat falling vacant in the future.
Ms. Ranjan, a student from a Scheduled Caste community, cleared the Joint Entrance Exam Advanced on October 15 with a rank of 1,469 in the SC category. She was allotted a seat in IIT-BHU for the dual-degree course.
However, she could not arrange the fees of ₹15,000 before the scheduled date. Lawyers apprising the court on her behalf said the student could not do so due to a financial crisis caused by medical expenses and ill-health of her father and COVID-19.
Her father was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease and was advised a kidney transplant. He needs to undergo dialysis twice a week to survive.
The HC noted that the girl was a “bright student.” She had secured 95.6% and 94% marks in her Class 10 and 12 examinations, respectively. She then appeared for the Joint Entrance Examination for selection in the IITs and cleared the exam securing 92.77% marks in JEE Mains Examination and rank 2,062 as an SC category student.
Lawyers arguing for her brought to the court’s notice an interim order passed by the Supreme Court on November 22 when it directed IIT-Bombay to admit a Dalit student, Jaibir Singh, who could not deposit fees for seat allocation before the due date, by creating a supernumerary seat.
