SC Allows 3 JEE Advanced Attempts to Students Who Dropped Out of College Between 5-18 Nov 2024

However, SC has Refused to Interfere with the Reduction of JEE Advanced Attempts for Other Students

The Supreme Court held that the students who withdrew admissions from colleges between November 5 and 18, 2024, are to be granted three Attempts to appear in the JEE Advanced examination in accordance with the original notification issued by the Joint Admission Board. The release comes at an extended eligibility period, which had originally been proposed for three batches of 2023, 2024, and 2025 for the test.

The case was argued before Justices B.R. Gavai and Augustine George Masih. The petitioners’ side was argued by senior advocate K. Parameshwar, who argued that the eligibility criteria were unfairly changed by the JAB midway and thereby disadvantaged thousands of students.

In the course of the hearing, Advocate Parameshwar briefed the court about the changes in the eligibility criteria for JEE Advanced. On 5 November 2024, JAB declared that the students of 2023, 2024, and 2025 batches are eligible to take the test. After 13 days, however, the eligibility was restricted only to the 2024 and 2025 batches.

Describing the withdrawal of the extended eligibility as arbitrary, Advocate Parameshwar said, “I can provide a list of students who dropped out of college thinking they could take the exam. Having promised that students from 2023, 2024, and 2025 would be eligible, let them keep their opportunity.”

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Arguments in favor of Two JEE Advanced attempts

Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General of India, representing the JAB, defended the decision to limit the number of attempts to two. He also argued that it can shift the attention of the student studying in some general engineering college and the concerned students would just continue to prepare for three attempts. With the new policy, he continued, that policy would really reduce the short term academic loss and encourage people to attend courses being undertaken subsequent to the failure to JEE ADVANCED in one or two previous attempts.

The Court admitted the submission and noted that the initial notice dated November 5, 2024 had categorically stated that students who had appeared for Class 12 exams in the years 2023, 2024, and 2025 were eligible to appear for the exam. This eligibility was arbitrarily altered to restrict only the 2024 and 2025 batches. The Court felt that some of the students had quit their colleges keeping this promise and that the drastic change had jeopardized their earlier plans.

The Court observed in its judgment: “The November 5, 2024 press release had categorically promised the students that students who appeared for Class 12 examination in the years 2023, 2024 and 2025 would be allowed to take the JEE (Advanced). If students, acting on that representation, have withdrawn from their courses with the understanding that they would be eligible for the exam, the withdrawal of that promise on November 18, 2024 cannot work to their disadvantage. It gives. Without commenting on the merits of JAB’s decision, and given the particular circumstances, those students who withdrew between November 5, 2024 and November 18, 2024 will be allowed to register for JEE (Advanced).”

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This decision to make three attempts shall apply only for the students who preceded the Supreme Court. It was in November 2024 that JAB had increased the number of JEE Advanced attempts from two to three. Only after a fortnight, that order was cancelled and two-attempt policy is again implemented.

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Gaurav Sharma

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