Today, On 10th January, The Supreme Court dismissed a plea challenging the reduction in JEE Advanced attempts, emphasizing that commitments made to students cannot be arbitrarily retracted. However, the court provided relief to candidates who dropped out between November 5 and November 18, 2024, by permitting them to register for the exam. The decision balances adherence to policy with fairness for affected students.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court today decided not to change the authorities’ ruling to limit the attempts for the Joint Entrance Examination (Advanced) from three to two. However, the Court did offer relief to petitioners who withdrew from their courses between November 5, 2024, and November 18, 2024, allowing them to participate in the exam.
A bench of Justices B.R. Gavai and A.G. Masih heared the plea of 21 JEE aspirants. The students are challenging the Joint Admission Board’s decision to reduce the number of attempts for JEE Advanced from three to two.
Senior Advocate Parameshwar, representing the petitioners, highlighted discrepancies in the eligibility criteria announced by the authorities.
Senior Advocate Parameshwar, represent
Parameshwar argued,
“The eligibility criteria for JEE Main was notified on October 28, 2024, stating that students who completed their 12th in 2024, 2023, or 2025 are eligible. However, on November 5, 2024, JAB announced that students graduating in 2023, 2024, and 2025 would be eligible. Then, on November 18, they reversed their decision, restricting eligibility to only 2024 graduates and those who will pass in 2025, excluding 2023 entirely,”
He further stressed the arbitrary nature of these changes, noting,
“The provision for three attempts was introduced to reduce stress, and its sudden withdrawal is arbitrary. Students who dropped out of college, believing they would get an additional attempt, are now left in the lurch.”
Parameshwar added that these students had left engineering colleges with the hope of another opportunity, and such sudden changes are “unfair.”
Justice Gavai queried,
“But wasn’t the same practice followed in previous years?”
In response, Parameshwar pointed out,
“The exemption was granted this year that’s the point. We can’t turn back the clock now.”
The bench also questioned the reasoning behind the sudden policy reversal.
Justice Gavai asked,
“What significant difference occurred between November 5 and November 18?”
Parameshwar revealed,
“When we sought reasons, none were provided.”
The Solicitor General (SG) defended the decision, explaining that it was a policy-driven move intended to encourage students to focus on their ongoing education.
He stated,
“It was observed that some students, after securing admission to regular engineering colleges, would drop out in their third year to attempt IIT. The decision to limit attempts was made in their best interest,”
The SG also emphasized that students who dropped out could be readmitted.
He argued,
“Among thousands, if a few students decide to drop out to attempt IIT, it’s because they only focus on IIT coaching and neglect their ongoing courses. This policy aims to address such issues,”
However, the court was firm in its stance on the implications of the policy reversal.
The bench observed,
“If students made decisions based on this promise, including dropping out of their courses to appear for the JEE Mains exam, the retraction of this commitment cannot be justified,”
The court issued a notice, returnable in four weeks, clarifying that this interim relief would apply only to petitioners who dropped out between November 5 and November 18.
Responding to concerns raised by the SG about the broader implications of this decision, the court stated,
“We are not challenging the reasoning behind Respondent 2’s decision to restrict eligibility to two or three years for various reasons. However, the press release explicitly assured that students who completed their 12th grade in 2023, 2024, or 2025 would be eligible.”
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The plea, filed through Advocate Sanjeet Kumar Trivedi, challenges the Joint Admission Board’s (JAB) decision to modify the eligibility criteria for JEE-Advanced aspirants. According to the petition, the JAB had initially fixed the maximum number of attempts at three through a press release on November 5, 2024. However, within two weeks, on November 18, 2024, the board abruptly reduced the number of attempts to two.
The Plea Stated,
“The suddenchanges in the eligibility criteria, have affected the petitioner as well as thousands of similarly situated persons, denying them a valuable opportunity to enter the IITs.”
The petitioner claims the change in eligibility criteria is:
- Arbitrary: The decision to reduce attempts lacks a fair and transparent rationale.
- Against Natural Justice: Students who planned their preparation strategy based on the earlier policy are now unfairly disadvantaged.
- Violative of Legitimate Expectations and Promissory Estoppel: Aspirants had legitimate grounds to expect continuity in the eligibility criteria announced earlier.
The petition seeks to set aside the November 18, 2024 press release, arguing that the sudden change has disqualified many students from appearing in the JEE-Advanced 2025 exam. It urges the court to restore the original policy of allowing three attempts for all candidates.
Case Title: MITHIN MONDAL AND ORS. Versus UNION OF INDIA AND ORS., W.P.(C) No. 854/2024 & ARNAV v.UNION OF INDIA AND ORS., W.P.(C) No. 17/2025