IIT-JEE | OCI Candidate Moves Supreme Court To Relax Criteria Requiring Students To Appear In JEE Within 2 Years Of Passing Class 12

On November 29, the Supreme Court issued notice on a writ petition seeking relaxation in eligibility criteria for the JEE Mains Exam 2024 for an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) candidate. The Court allowed the petitioner to add the JEE Apex Body (JAB) as a respondent in the case.

The existing criteria mandate that candidates must have passed Class 12th in 2022 or later to be eligible for the JEE Mains 2024. This stipulation presented a unique challenge for an OCI student who, due to mandatory military service, could only appear for the exam in 2024 after completing the service period following Class 12th. Notably, the application deadline is November 30, and the Mains are scheduled for two sessions in January and April 2024.

The writ petition, filed under Article 32, was heard by a Supreme Court bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and PS Narsimha. The petitioner, an OCI candidate from Singapore, sought relaxation in eligibility criteria, given that he completed Class XII on December 31, 2021, and had to undergo a mandatory 2-year military service immediately thereafter. Consequently, he could only appear for the JEE Mains in 2024. The petitioner argued that the Information Bulletin released on November 1, 2023, set the eligibility criteria that only candidates passing Class 12 in 2022 or later could participate in JEE (Main) - 2024.

The petitioner, represented by Senior Advocate Gopal Sankarnarayan, brought attention to the alleged discrepancy in treatment, noting that while JEE Advanced 2023 provided relaxation for conscription, the same was omitted in JEE Mains 2024. The petitioner contended that this omission amounted to a violation of Articles 14 and 21.

Sankarnarayan further highlighted the ambiguity in the eligibility criteria, pointing out that the Information Bulletin for JEE (Main) 2024 did not specify any relaxation for candidates required to undergo mandatory military service for a certain number of years.

During the hearing, Sankarnarayan explained the unique circumstances of the case, emphasizing that the petitioner missed the eligibility criteria by just one day and faced challenges when attempting to register due to the unavailability of the 2021 option in the dropdown menu.

Justice Gavai inquired about the time frame within which candidates must appear after passing, to which Shankarnarayan replied, "Yes," elaborating on the one-day accommodation issue. Justice Narsimha sought clarification on whether this accommodation applied solely to OCI candidates, which was confirmed by the petitioner.

The bench then sought a response from the opposite side, with the counsel for the National Testing Agency (NTA) clarifying that NTA, as an examination-conducting body, does not have policymaking authority, and decisions are made by the JEE Apex Body (JAB) appointed by the government.

Case title: Vinamr Athavle v. UOI

Citation: WP(C)1315/2023

For petitioner: Sr Adv Gopal Shankarnarayan and assisted by Adv Ayush Mishra and Adv. Krishnam Mishra