Representative file image. |Photo source: Gn Rao
The Supreme Court rejected a request on Monday (April 21, 2025) seeking instructions to allow students who clear the Level 12 exam to attend JEE-Advanced 2025 in 2023 to ensure admission in prestigious IITs.
Justices Br Gavai and Augustine George Masih pointed out that the matter should be slow in intervening in academia in the field of policy.
The petition filed by the aspirants of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) who passed the Level 12 exam in 18233 says that although they are eligible to appear in the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) in 2025, in 2025, they are eligible to appear in the JEE Awards on May 18.
The petition alleges that the petitioner was angry at the “sudden and arbitrary policy reversal” by the Joint Admissions Committee (JAB) (JAB) at the JEE-Advanced 2025 eligibility criteria, which was initially revoked on November 5, 2024 from the two allowed attempts from the previous year. The jab was performed jee-Advanced.
On Monday, the bench asked Deputy Attorney General Tushar Mehta why three attempts to do JEE-Advanganced were allowed in Jee-Mains.
“Why don’t you limit it to two aspects?” asked the bench. It added: “Better yet, now you’ll bring both.”
Mr Mehta referred to the January 10 order adopted by the Supreme Court in another petition that stated that the JAB issued a press release last November 5 saying that in 2023, students taking the 12th grade exams in 2024 and 2025 will be eligible to appear in JEE-Actanced.
The Supreme Court then noted that on November 18, 2024, another press release was limited to two academic years – 2024 and 2025.
Mr Mehta said the press release dated 18 November 2014 was challenged in an earlier petition, and he was questioned in this request.
He said on January 10, he had proposed in the Supreme Court that the decision notified in the press release last November 18 was for the greater benefit because they were unable to focus on their studies and spent a lot of time preparing for jee-Advanced, hoping to get into the IIT.
Senior advocate Shadan Farasat appeared among 18 petitioners, highlighting the dichotomy between JEE-Mains and Jee-Advanced, while referring to the number of attempts to take the exam.
On March 27, the Supreme Court sought a response from the Centre, and Jab and others sought a response.
“The lack of unified attempts and advanced attempts at JEE-Main deprives the opportunity to enroll in IIT compared to students who passed XII in 2024 and 2025,” said the request through an advocate Mrinmoi Chatterjee.
The request said that IIT admission was ensured through a two-step entrance exam (jee-mains, followed by JEE-Advancanced) and was held twice a year.
The Supreme Court, in an order passed on another petition on January 10, said the students had withdrawn the course and withdrawn from the course between November 5, 2024 and November 18, 2024.
publishing – April 21, 2025 at 10:52 pm IST
