Dropout aspirants eligible for JEE, says SC

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday allowed petitioners who dropped out of their courses between November 5 and November 18, 2024, to register for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE)-Advanced.

A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih passed this order while hearing challenges against the reduction of attempts for JEE-Advanced aspirants from three to two.

The bench noted that the Joint Admission Board (JAB), which oversees the JEE-Advanced exam, issued a press release on November 5, 2024, stating that students who appeared for the class 12 examination in 2023, 2024, and 2025 would be eligible for the JEE-Advanced. However, on November 18, 2024, another press release restricted eligibility to only the 2024 and 2025 academic years.

Court stated, “If the students, acting on the said representation (of November 5), have dropped out of their course with an understanding that they would be entitled to appear for the JEE examination, the withdrawal of the promise on November 18, 2024 cannot be permitted to act to their detriment.”

As a result, the Court ruled that those who had dropped out between November 5 and November 18, 2024, could register for the exam.

The petitioners had filed two cases, one of which was brought by 22 aspirants challenging the reduction in the number of attempts allowed for JEE-Advanced from three to two. During the hearing, their counsel argued that based on the November 5 press release, students dropped out of colleges to pursue the IIT entrance exam, expecting to have three attempts.

Another petition, filed by an aspirant through advocate Sanjeet Kumar Trivedi, criticized the arbitrary change in eligibility criteria by the JAB.