SC allows students who dropped out between Nov 5-18, 2024, to register for JEE-Advanced 2025

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: The Supreme Court permitted petitioners who dropped out of their courses between November 5 and November 18, 2024, to register for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE)-Advanced 2025 on Friday. The bench, consisting of Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih, passed the order while hearing appeals regarding the reduction of attempts for JEE-Advanced from three to two. The Joint Admission Board (JAB), responsible for conducting the exam, initially issued a press release on November 5, 2024, announcing that students who appeared for their Class 12 exams in the academic years 2023, 2024, and 2025 would be eligible for JEE-Advanced.

However, on November 18, 2024, a second press release restricted eligibility to only the 2024 and 2025 academic years. The Supreme Court ruled that students who dropped out after the November 5 announcement, believing they would be eligible for the exam, should not be disadvantaged by the November 18 revision. The court stated that such students would be allowed to register for the test as per reports. The court was hearing two petitions, including one filed by 22 aspirants challenging the reduction of attempts for JEE-Advanced 2025. Petitioners’ counsel argued that students had made life-altering decisions, such as dropping out of college, based on the November 5 promise.

They contended that the sudden change in policy within just 13 days was arbitrary and unjust. During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta justified the change in eligibility as being in the larger interest of students. The bench, however, did not comment on the merits of JAB’s decision to limit eligibility to two years instead of three.