The Delhi High Court on Wednesday dismissed a plea seeking relief for students taking the JEE Advanced 2023 exam.
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav denied the petition filed by 67 students who are Class XII pass-outs of 2021 and were unable to take the JEE (Advanced) Examination due of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The petition sought relaxation of the “two attempts in two consecutive years” criteria so that students who were unable to apply twice or even once in the years 2021 and 2022 could appear this year as a “special provision.”
The petition further sought relaxation for those candidates who appeared in class 12th exam in 2021 for the first time to appear for JEE (Advanced), 2023 exam, providing they took the exam only once, either in 2021 or 2022, or did not take any paper at all in both years.
A relaxation of the 75% aggregate marks requirement in the Class XII Board examination for admission to IIT was also requested.
The petitioners argued that, given the exceptional circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the relaxation of eligibility criteria through a one-time measure in JEE Advanced 2022 for students who passed from class 12th in 2020 was an urgent necessity.
“It is submitted that the JEE (Advanced) eligibility criterion 3 & 4 of “two attempts in two consecutive years” of 2022 for students of 12th pass out of 2020 was relaxed, whereas the same was denied to students of 12th pass out of 2021, despite the fact that both were identically situated, and the differential treatment is a violation of Article 14 of the Indian Constitution,” the plea added.
