Supreme Court asks IIT Dhanbad to admit Dalit youth

New Delhi: SC came to the rescue of a Dalit student, son of a daily wager, who lost his admission to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Dhanbad because he got late in paying the admission fee of ₹17,500 online by a few minutes.

The student got late as he did not have the financial wherewithal to pay the fee on time. And it took his father, a daily wager from Uttar Pradesh (earning about ₹450 daily), some time to arrange a loan from fellow villagers for his son's fees.

Speaking on behalf of the bench, CJI observed, "There are some cases in which we will keep the law a little aside. He is such a diligent, extraordinary and bright boy. He does all the hard work to secure admission, but the only problem was arranging ₹17,500." SC directed that the student be admitted to the seat for the electrical engineering course at IIT Dhanbad that was allotted to him. It clarified that a supernumerary post be created for him to accommodate him so that the admission of no other student is disturbed.