JEE Mains | Why 75% Marks In XII Boards Mandatory When There Is A Qualifying Exam? Bombay High Court Asks NTA

The Bombay High Court on Thursday sought to know the purpose of eligibility criteria of 75 percent marks in boards despite there being a qualifying exam for admission to IITs, NITs, IIITs etc. 

The court asked the NTA, "What is the purpose for giving 75 percent for twelfth standard? There is a qualifying examination."

Advocate Rui Rodriguez told the court that the candidates have to either score 75 percent in board exams or be in top 20 percentile of their respective boards. The petitioner submitted that the data about top 20 percentile has not been published by the boards after 2019.

The court referred to the 2019 cutoff data and noted that the score for top 20 percentile in some boards is even higher than 75 percent. The court questioned whether this relaxation is meaningful.

"This relaxation that you are seeking to give, will it be meaningful?...only for very few boards there will a benefit. For example, Goa has 375, there the students might be benefitted. For Maharashtra the cutoff is even higher than CBSE", the court said.

The petitioner has also filed an interim application seeking another session for JEE Mains 2023 in May.

A student has also filed an intervention application challenging the eligibility criteria. Advocate Joseph Thattil submitted that the applicant has scored 92 percentile in JEE Mains and is eligible to appear in JEE Advance. However, she will not get admission even if she qualifies as her board exam score is 72 percent, he said.

The court directed the NTA to file an affidavit and respond to the interim application as well as intervention application.

The court had earlier rejected the prayer for postponement of JEE Mains 2023 examination. Session 1 was conducted as scheduled from January 24 - January 31 and Session 2 is ongoing as per schedule.

The PIL contends that many candidates are from batches that were assessed on the basis of performance in the previous years as the board exams were cancelled due to COVID pandemic. According to the petition, there are students with less than 75% marks but could perform well in JEE Mains and if fair chance is denied to them, it will affect the future of lakhs for bright students.

The minimum eligibility criteria was not applicable for academic years 2021-22 and 2022-23. The petition states that the NTA notification came at the end of the current academic year. The eligibility criteria should not be changed suddenly as the students have been preparing with the expectation that it will be the same as that of last year, the petition contends.

Case Title – Anubha Srivastava Sahai v. National Testing Agency and Ors.