'All the best Atul'

IITs are the best technical education institutes in India. Getting admission into these insuitituosns is no joke and it requires some ‘smarts’.

Opportunities are endless for students graduating from IITs. Apart from being an educational institution, IITs contribute to the development of the country through research. OBC and SC-ST students also get concessions in admission. When somebody from a backward class completes his education at IIT, it also helps elevate his/her position in society and will help break the stigma associated with class division.

It is not normal for administrators of such institutions to deny admission to a Dalit student citing trivial technical quibbles. However, an appalling incident happened some days back and it even caught the attention of the apex court.

Dhanbad IIT authorities denied admission to Atul, the son of a daily wage labourer in Uttar Pradesh because he was a few minutes late paying the online admission fee. Taking conscience, the Supreme Court ordered to allot a separate seat to the Dalit student. The action was taken using the special powers conferred on the Supreme Court under Article 142 of the Constitution to ensure complete justice. The laudable order came from a bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Mishra.

Atul had to pay Rs 17,500 online to get admission. This is a huge sum considering his family's penury-stricken state. The amount was to be paid by 5 pm on June 24. Time reached 4.45 pm when the villagers achieved their mission of amassing the required money. Atul tried to pay the money later but the authorities denied any chance. IIT Seat Allocation Authority tried to block Atul's admission by citing various reasons in the court.

The court rejected all that and ordered that Atul be admitted to the allotted electrical engineering seat in IIT by creating a supernumerary post. The court was shocked by the gesture of denying the student admission only for being some minutes late in paying the required fee.

It would be ideal if State governments intervene to provide necessary assistance to Dalit children in cases where they are unable to pay the fees for first-stage admission. Alternatively, IIT administrators can also intervene by providing special scholarships or helping to find sponsors. Denying seats to brilliant students for breaching punctuality is a bit much.