Today, 21st April, The Supreme Court has dismissed students’ plea regarding the number of attempts for the JEE-Advanced 2025 exam. The court emphasized that “courts should be cautious when interfering in academic matters.”
New Delhi: The Supreme Court dismissed a petition requesting that students who passed their Class 12 exams in 2023 be allowed to participate in the JEE-Advanced 2025 for admission to the prestigious IITs.
A bench comprising Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih noted that the issue falls within the policy domain and that courts should be cautious when interfering in academic matters.
The petition filed by 18 aspirants of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) who, while eligible for a final attempt at the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE)-Mains in 2025, were deemed ineligible for the JEE-Advanced, scheduled for May 18.
The petitioners expressed their discontent over what they termed an “abrupt and arbitrary policy reversal” regarding eligibility criteria by the Joint Admission Board (JAB), which initially expanded the permissible attempts from two to three on November 5, 2024, only to retract that decision on November 18.
The JAB is responsible for conducting the JEE-Advanced. During the proceedings, the bench questioned Solicitor General Tushar Mehta about the rationale for allowing three attempts in JEE-Mains while limiting JEE-Advanced to two attempts.
The bench inquired,
“Why don’t you restrict it to two even for mains?”
It further suggested,
“It is better that now you bring two for both.”
Mehta referred to an order issued by the apex court on January 10 regarding a separate petition, which noted that the JAB had announced on November 5 that students who took the Class 12 exams in 2023, 2024, and 2025 would be eligible for JEE-Advanced.
However, on November 18, a subsequent press release was issued, limiting eligibility to only the academic years 2024 and 2025.
He stated that the November 18 press release, which was challenged in the earlier petition, was now being questioned again. On January 10, he had argued that the decision made on November 18 was in the best interest of students, allowing them to focus on their studies instead of spending time preparing for JEE-Advanced with the hope of entering the IITs.
Senior advocate Shadan Farasat, representing the 18 petitioners, pointed out the inconsistency between the number of attempts allowed for JEE-Mains and JEE-Advanced. On March 27, the Supreme Court had sought responses from the Centre, JAB, and others regarding the plea.
The petition contended that the lack of uniformity in the number of attempts for JEE-Mains and JEE-Advanced deprived the petitioners of an equal opportunity to secure admission to IITs compared to students who passed their Class 12 exams in 2024 and 2025.
The plea, filed by advocate Mrinmoi Chatterjee, further explained that admissions to the IITs are determined through a two-step entrance process: JEE-Mains followed by JEE-Advanced, with JEE-Mains conducted in two sessions annually.
In its January 10 order related to a different petition, the Supreme Court had stated that students who withdrew from their courses between November 5 and November 18, 2024, would be allowed to register for JEE-Advanced.